The First Year, an Almost Happily Ever After story
by JetLaBarge
Summary: Fairy tales end "And They Lived Happily Ever After," but good stories continue on "one season following another, laden with happiness ... and tears." The first of 4 stories covering the 19 years until Albus goes to Hogwarts. I have a rough draft all the way to the finish!
1. Ch 1, Battle Day

Ch. 1, Battle Day 

Well, if she got that scar from being Potter's witch, then she was going to BE POTTER'S WITCH! Ginny thought of using the spell some more.

Harry gave Ginny a 'you have got to be kidding' look, and said "Everything?"

Ginny got a sly smile on her face. She really had not intended to get Harry in the nip but she had to admit it was tempting.

* * *

Starts just before the end of DH.

* * *

Arthur and Molly were standing holding hands, looking out a hole in the wall of Hogwarts castle. Ginny, still shorter than even Molly, was in front and between them, the rest of the Weasleys, including Fleur and Hermione, were around them.

"What if Harry's dead?" asked Molly of Arthur.

"Then we still have to kill Riddle," Arthur said, a look of fierce determination in his eyes. "We still have to try to kill Tom Riddle, or die trying."

"And the children?" asked Molly, unshed tears sounding in her voice.

"We'll meet on the other side," Arthur said, reassuringly. "We all knew this could happen. At least we have a chance and at least the children can fight and take some of the Death Eaters with them."

'They're coming,' Ginny thought, as Voldemort and his entourage approached the castle. Then she heard the news that filled her with dread and despair. Harry Potter was dead. She thought, 'Harry's dead? HARRY'S DEAD! NO! NO! NO! If Harry's dead, I might as well die too.'

Looking out at the scene below, Ginny said, as much to herself as to anybody else, "We're all going to die. Today we're all going to die."

"It's time to kill," said Arthur, without as much as a waver in his voice. "It's time to make them pay a terrible price."

"Oh, Arthur, the whole family is here," Molly reiterated.

"We must do our best to finish Harry's job," said Arthur, cold blooded determination and an icy sadness in his voice. "We must ALL do our best to finish Harry's job. Or die trying."

Ginny thought that this was the first time she'd ever known her parents to lack comforting words. They were all going to DIE.

She was going to die!

Ginny saw that Neville had a sword and that he had cut off the snake Nagini's head.

Voldemort was coming into Hogwarts.

'I need to find him,' Ginny thought, her wand arm itching to be put to use. The notion of life without Harry appeared to be completely without substance. 'I need to help kill him! Nothing else will avenge my Harry's death! I'm going to die anyway!'

Ginny ran ahead of the rest of her family, towards the heart of the battle. 'There Voldemort is, just on the other side of Bella,' Ginny thought, and she started to fight Bellatrix Lestrange, who was blocking her way to Voldemort. Ginny was joined in the fight by Hermione and Luna.

A curse glanced off her, and Ginny was stunned by how much it hurt! It hurt, oh it hurt, and her thoughts reflected the intense pain and confusion. 'OH! AHHHHHhhhhhh. Got to get up. Forget the pain.' Ginny forced her eyes to focus and saw her mother fighting Bella.

'Mum?' Ginny knew she'd seen her mother angry, but she had never seen her mother this angry; never had she seen such a cold fury in her mother's eyes and voice.

"_AVADA KEDAVRA!" _Molly shouted with a power and a viciousness that startled everyone who heard her.

'Mum shouted the killing curse?! Mum killed Bella? Ouch. It still hurts.' Ginny was having a hard time functioning.

Then she saw Harry and Voldemort circling each other.

HARRY! ? !

ALIVE!

She could not believe it. Her emotions went from full despair to elation in a flash.

Ginny was thinking, 'HARRY'S ALIVE! HARRY'S ALIVE! He and Voldemort are getting ready to duel. Please, Harry. Please. You have to win! You have to win!' Ginny was watching Harry Potter and Voldemort circle each other. She and most of the people in the Great Hall had stopped what they were doing and were watching the two most notorious adversaries circling each other. Finally a ray of light entered the Great Hall through the broken walls of Hogwarts Castle.

There were two powerful spells, and it was like a dream. Like the best version of the Harry Potter/Lord Voldemort duel she had been dreaming of since childhood. The two spells met, Voldemort was down, his wand flew up into the air and Harry Potter, the hero of so many dreams from childhood to even the last few weeks, the dream of Harry Potter beating Lord Voldemort was coming true, with Harry catching Voldemort's wand in the most graceful and satisfying ending, one even better than anything she could imagine.

Ginny was shouting, "HARRY WON! HARRY WON!" She ran over to greet Harry, looked back and saw her mother sitting, almost lying on the floor. She turned back to look at Harry. He was a mess, bruised and battered. He wore a look of one who had finished a hard task but was totally physically and emotionally drained. 'Somebody needs to take care of him,' she thought.

Ginny looked back at her mother. Fleur and her father were both there, and from their expressions she could tell that her mother needed her.

Arthur and Fleur were both motioning Ginny to come over.

Ginny hesitated for a fraction of a second, torn between embracing Harry for her Happily Ever After moment and fear for her mum. As it had so many times that day, fear, plus concern for her mum, won out. So she left the crowd surrounding Harry and went to her mother's side.

"MUM, Mum, what's the matter, Mum?" She looked at her mother, who had collapsed on the floor and was sobbing, shaking. She asked, "Why are you sitting on the floor crying? Mum, please." Ginny still hurt! She hurt all over. The two big scars were really painful. Ginny's mother was just shaking, and she had never seen Mum like this. Ginny got Molly over to a bench and sat next to her, leaning her head against her mother's shoulder.

Ginny caught her dad's eye again and called him over. She asked, "Have you ever seen Mum like this?"

Arthur Weasley heard Ginny call and looked at his daughter and wife. "I've seen your mother collapse this way a couple of times over the years," he answered. "She needs to cry herself out. Get her up to the Gryffindor common room, transfigure a sofa into a bed and stay with her to help get her to sleep."

"I will, Dad," Ginny promised. It felt good to have something to do. She looked at the chaos reigning around her. Fleur was tending the wounded along with some others. She couldn't see Charlie and George anywhere in the Great Hall. Her father, Percy and Bill were walking out through the main doors with Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Where was Harry? Ginny had sat there with her mother for quite some time, unable to function. Finally, Ginny thought, 'Come on, Potter, where are you? Where is MY Harry Potter? By Luna? I saw you put on that Invisibility Cloak. Gone somewhere with Ron and Hermione? Just wait, Potter. You're not going to get away from me again, Harry Potter!'

Ginny realized that she had to focus on her mother. She had to get her mother to bed and then find Potter. "Come on, Mum, I'll hold you," Ginny assured her, but Ginny herself was so sleepy, so sore… Still, she knew what she had to do, so just before noon on May 2nd she got her mum to her feet and began to guide her out of the hall and up the stairs.

* * *

Ginny woke up in the four-poster bed she had made in the Gryffindor common room, about four hours after she had first put herself and her mother to bed. She noticed that her mother was still sleeping. Her next waking thought was of Harry. 'Where is Potter? Where?! Is?! Potter?!'

Ginny looked around the common room. She eased herself out of bed, on the side closest to the boys' stairway, looking around at the state of the room as she did. She could only see about half of it, since the bed was in the way. The common room was a mess, with broken windows and rubble on the floor. There were lots of other people on the other side of the room, mostly asleep, although some were just sitting there with dazed looks on their faces. They were sprawled everywhere, in the big chairs and sofas and even on the floor. Ginny saw Hermione come down the stairs from the boys' dormitory and said, "Hi, Hermione. What were you doing in the boys' dorm?"

Hermione answered, "I couldn't very well sleep in the girls' dorm." Hermione pointed to where the steps for the girls' dorm started. Ginny peered around the other side of the bed. The stairs to the girls' dorm were missing, and there were just spells keeping people from falling through the missing section of wall. "I've been putting people in rooms in the boys' dorms," Hermione explained. "Ron's asleep, and Harry is just wiped out."

"HARRY!" Ginny perked up!

It looked to Ginny like Hermione was wiped out as well. She was so tired she was shaking. "We need to get you up to bed too," Ginny told her gently, holding out an arm for her friend to take.

"Help me up to where Ron and Harry are," Hermione agreed, accepting Ginny's invitation.

As the two witches made their way to the staircase, avoiding broken objects and sleeping persons, Ginny asked, "How's Harry?"

Hermione looked at her closest female friend and said, "He must be even more exhausted than any of us. I don't think he slept much last night, nor did Ron or I, for that matter. Wait a minute, was that last night? No, it must have been the night before. It's all so confusing…"

Then Hermione's expression changed. She smiled as they finally made it to the winding staircase and began to ascend. "You know he never stopped caring about you, right?"

Ginny's heart thudded for a moment and she blurted out, "Does Harry still like me?"

She hated to sound desperate, but it was very important to her.

Hermione smiled and said, "Ginny, when we were traveling and hiding last year, in the evening, Harry would take out the Marauders' Map and look at your spot on the map and talk to it. He tried to keep it a secret and I never asked him about it, but I think he's head over heels in love with you. I reckon you were the light at the end of the tunnel for him. I think you would make him very happy if you were there when he woke up."

Ginny hoped that Harry still liked her.

Ginny really wanted to be living the fairy tale ending of Harry killing Lord Voldemort and then rushing into her arms, although that dream had obviously ended with all of the death and destruction and chaos of the last few hours.

Besides, Harry had not taken her into his arms and kissed her. He'd gone off with her brother and Hermione. Bollocks!

By this time, they'd reached the stoop outside of the seventh-year boys' dormitory. Ginny had to make sure one last time. "You're sure Harry still likes me?! Oh, Hermione, this is so important to me."

Hermione rolled her eyes and answered, "Yes, of course he likes you! You know he only broke up with you in an overprotective gesture. Come on in, Ginny."

Ginny followed her friend into the room. Hermione immediately went over to Ron, who was sleeping in his bed, sort of face-down, sort of on his side, and crawled into bed next to him, holding on to his back and putting her arms around him. Ginny walked over to Harry's bed. He was facing away from the door, so she had to get on the other side of the bed to see his face. He was a mess; dirty, bruised, and obviously dead asleep.

Ginny looked at herself. She was a mess too. Blood from other people was on her clothes, as well as the dirt and dust. She did not want Harry to see her like this, not now.

Ginny went into the bathroom, used the loo and stepped into the showers. She took off her clothes and did the best cleaning charm she could on them. She got her shampoo out; the one she had made to smell like apple blossoms and the spring flowers and smells of the Burrow. She'd really worked on that scent! After a shower and washing her hair, she did a combing charm, keeping her hair from tangling and leaving it full. Ginny was very proud of her hair. It was a beautiful auburn red, coming to well below her shoulders and spreading out from her head in a striking fashion.

Ginny thought of the _Touch-of-Lust_ spell. Despite the name, if you just used one flick once a week, it just sort of kept a boy interested. She had talked to her mother about it, and her mother said you used it daily or with more than one flick only when you knew you had found the boy you were sure you were going to marry, and when you were sure he felt the same way.

Her mother said the _Touch-of-Lust_ spell could be a really dangerous spell and had explained some of the family history of her female ancestors. She really should not use it until she … what did Harry feel … he looked at her dot on the map?! All the time! HARRY! Ginny used the _Touch-of-Lust_ spell with two flicks and immediately felt a little guilty. Well, if Harry did not want her, NO, she couldn't even think about that.

Ginny looked at the scar that started above her right breast, and continued all the way down to where, well, she hoped it would not interfere with nursing a baby someday. If she got that scar from being Potter's witch, she damn well was going to BE POTTER'S WITCH! Ginny thought of using the spell some more.

Maybe using it anymore WAS excessive. Ginny looked at the other scar, the one on her thigh, the one that showed she was still a virgin, damn it. The sixteen year old hormones were working overtime. Ginny felt like she had waited half her life for this moment. Her fairy tale ending was supposed to be coming true!

Ginny never just let things happen. If she could, she made things happen. Ginny was going to make sure her Happily Ever After ending would come true!

Ginny put down the wand and left the bathroom, full of conflict. All of the fairy tale endings had the hero and heroine fall into each other's arms after the climactic battle, and she and Harry hadn't even said, 'Hi!' Damn! Damn! Bollocks!

Ginny sat down on Harry's bed and waited. She thought a little of the events of the last 24 to 36 hours, but mostly she just sat on the bed and tried not to think. She was so weary and so sore and so close to crying.

She couldn't let Harry see her cry, and she wiped at a stray tear. Ginny was almost beyond thinking, and she just sat there, semi-awake, guarding the trio in case anyone thought to disturb the exhausted heroes.

About an hour after Ginny came up with Hermione, Harry Potter started to wake up. The first thing he noticed was that his scar was not hurting. He could not feel anything up there. Always before there was some feeling there, sometimes just a presence, sometimes intense pain, but always something. Of course, everything else seemed to be hurting terribly.

The second thing Harry noticed was that he had to go to the loo. It was pretty urgent; that's probably why he woke up after only four hours or so of sleep. And the third thing he noticed was the smell that said, 'Ginny Weasley.' Ginny! Harry's eyes snapped open, and he fumbled for his glasses. Ginny was sitting on the edge of his bed. As Harry got up, so did Ginny. She said, "You're not going to get away from me again, Harry Potter!"

Harry answered, "Well, I've got to go to the loo right now." He wanted to see Ginny more than just about anything, but he did not want to sit next to Ginny and wet his pants.

Ginny took a good look at Harry, with dirt all over himself, bruises and who knew what else, and said, "Oh, Harry, you look just AWFUL!"

The only answer Harry could think of was, "I've had a tough couple of days."

Ginny knew she needed to get clean clothes on Harry, and he needed to wash. You could do only so much with cleaning charms, and a person always was cleaner and more refreshed when they had washed.

"Take off those filthy clothes, and I'll do a cleaning charm on them while you get washed," Ginny said, in a tone that reminded Harry of Mrs. Weasley.

Harry gave Ginny a, 'you have got to be kidding' look, and said, "Everything?"

Ginny got a snarky smile on her face. She really had not intended to get Harry naked, but she had to admit it was tempting. In the end, Ginny just answered with, "Harry, I was raised with six older brothers. I've seen them with nothing on but their boxers. Take off everything but your boxers and give them to me. Then, after you are in the bathroom, take the boxers off and get them to me."

Ginny spoke to Harry with a tone of voice that indicated she was not to be disobeyed, so Harry took off his shirt and gave it to Ginny, who looked at his chest above his heart and gently touched a new lightning shaped scar. "Where did that come from?" The scar looked very much like the one on his head, but it was new, larger, open and looked like it had dirt rubbed into it. Harry did look rather battered and not just from that scar. There were a lot of injuries and scars on Harry's upper body.

Harry took off his jeans and handed them to Ginny, saying, "I probably got that when Riddle killed me last night." He looked down, almost in surprise to see the gaping wound.

Ginny practically yelled, "WHAT?! Harry, what happened? What do you mean 'when he killed you?' Harry?" Ginny was frantic.

Harry said, "Later, please. I really have to go to the loo right now…." And Harry left for the bathroom.

Ginny sat there stunned. She thought, 'Oh great. What are you going to tell people when they ask, "What were the first words Harry told you after the battle?" That he loved you? That he missed you?

'Well, no, the first words he said were, "I have to go to the loo?" What were the first words you said? "Harry, you're filthy?" Well, they were actually, "you're not getting away from me," but the next words were, "you're filthy." Some fairy tale ending this was turning out to be.' She almost laughed at the ridiculous situation she now found herself in. Well, no matter, she would persevere.

Harry looked so battered! More than anything, Ginny just wanted Harry well again. Then she choked back a sob, wondering what kind of pain a killing curse caused when it went awry. 'When he killed me?' she thought and then quietly she said the words, "When he killed me." It just didn't make any sense.

Harry took the time to grab a towel, take off his boxers, throw them out the door at Ginny, and went to the loo. From there he went to the showers and let the warm water soak his body. There were bruises all over his body, and he was really stiff. Maybe his scar didn't hurt, but everything else did. Right in the middle of the shower he started to think about all of the people who had died: Fred, Tonks and Lupin, Colin, all of the people who'd died, and he broke down in tears, but after at least ten minutes of crying he managed to pull himself together.

Drying himself off, he wrapped a towel around his middle and peeked out the bathroom door, painfully aware that he was naked and Ginny was waiting for him on the other side of the door. Ginny WAS waiting for him, and she got up and gave him his boxers with that fiercely determined 'Ginny' look on her face. After putting them on, Harry walked back into the bedroom, put his now clean clothes back on, cleaned his glasses and looked around the room.

In Ron's bed, Ron and Hermione seemed to be sleeping in each other's arms. On the table next to his bed were three wands, his Holly and Phoenix wand, Draco Malfoy's Hawthorn wand, and the Elder Wand (the Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny). Ginny was still staring at him with that fierce gaze of hers, hands on her hips, waiting for him to say something.

Harry touched his face. He felt a three-day growth of beard. Here was Ginny, who he wanted to be with and impress and here he was scruffy and exhausted, causing him to feel utterly bewildered.

Harry grabbed the three wands, did a quick shaving spell with his wand, put all of them in a pocket and then took Ginny's hand. Ginny had been practically frantic with worry when Harry left, but when he grabbed her hand, she felt just a little better. He went to the stairway, saying as he went, "How long have they been sleeping, and how long have you been here?"

Ginny answered, "Ron and Hermione tried to stay awake to guard you and keep people away from you. I came up less than an hour ago to allow them to get some sleep as well. Were they sleeping together like that when you were traveling?"

"No, that's new," said Harry, with a grin. It had certainly taken those two long enough, although he had to admit that he was grateful that they hadn't been sleeping like that during their time in the tent. He had missed Ginny enough, without his two best friends constantly reminding him of what he was missing. "Hermione has liked Ron for a long time, but your brother is kind of thick about that type of thing sometimes."

Ginny gave a little knowing laugh and replied, "Ron is thick about a lot of things sometimes. When are you going to tell me about the scar and what happened and how you survived and how you killed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

Harry stopped to look Ginny in the eye and answered, "Ginny, call him Voldemort or, better yet Tom Riddle. I'll tell you everything, but give me time. It is a very long story, and it is going to take some time to tell it."

As they got to the common room Ginny said, "Quiet! I have to check on my mum." There was a four poster bed in the common room, with curtains all around. Molly Weasley was sleeping soundly in the bed. Harry asked, "What happened to your mum, Ginny?"

Ginny turned to Harry and, speaking quietly, almost in a whisper, said, "I don't know. After she killed Bellatrix Lestrange and you killed Tom–Tom Riddle, she just shut down. She just held me close and kept saying, 'Fred is gone' and 'I killed her.' And, 'You're alive. Harry's alive,' and, 'A mother shouldn't have to bury her children.' Then she would break down and cry and hold me. After you disappeared, Dad told me to bring Mum up to the Gryffindor common room, transfigure a couch into a bed and get Mum down to sleep awhile. I held Mum, and she and I went to sleep. I woke up about an hour ago. Hermione came down and told me about you and asked if I could come up so she and Ron could get some sleep. They are really worried about you."

Harry, also speaking very quietly, said, "I'm worried about your mother. I guess I'm worried about everybody. Where is your dad?"

Ginny answered, "I think Dad and Percy are at the Ministry. I saw them leave with Kingsley Shacklebolt. I think I saw Charlie or George on the other side of the bed. Fleur was helping heal people, and, oh, she's sleeping in that chair! Bill left at the same time as Dad and Percy, but I do not know where he went.

"Harry, I'll wait for you to tell me about most things, but getting killed? What happened? Were you dead when Voldemort said you were? When I saw you, I didn't care if I lived or died. I just wanted to kill Voldemort, and I didn't care if I got killed in the process. I felt that when you died, I died with you. All of my dreams dead! Dead! Dead." As she was saying these things her voice was rising, and she was beginning to speak, not quietly, but in an urgent tone of voice with a lot of emotion in it. With her face inches from Harry and looking directly into his eyes, she then said, "Harry, I love you. Don't leave me!"

"Ginny, what did you say?" said Harry. He reckoned he heard her say that she loved him, but the words seemed so foreign to him. He couldn't ever remember hearing them said, not directed at him anyways.

Ginny answered, her voice rising again, "I love you, Harry. I love you! I don't want to lose you again!" She then gave Harry the softest, gentlest kiss imaginable.

At this, Harry broke down again, pulling Ginny's close to him, almost sobbing. The words were so very difficult to say, but he knew he must. "I didn't want to die! I had to let Riddle kill me to kill-" Harry stopped for a moment, holding Ginny's face close to his, "to kill … to kill …part of him that was in me. I cried over every friend I was leaving behind, but just as the killing curse hit, just as I died, there was only one person … Oh, Ginny, I thought of your blazing eyes, your fierce determination, your kisses. Oh, to lose those forever, I don't know, maybe that's why I came back!"

Ginny's eyes had gotten big, and there was a look of horror on her face as she said, "You did die. Oh, Harry! How come you're alive?"

"It's sort of complicated," said Harry quietly, not really sure himself. "I was … I saw Dumbledore …I really thought I was dead, but I had a choice. Voldemort had taken my blood to regenerate his body. So long as I was killed by his hand and my blood lived on in his body, I could come back. I could have gone…on, but I thought of you and everyone else who was depending on me, and I came back. And afterwards, when I left with Ron and Hermione, you were with your mother, and I thought, I thought…" Harry's voice got soft and he had a shy look on his face. "Maybe we would have years and years to be together."

"Harry, I meant it when I said don't ever leave me," said Ginny, fiercely, the love in her eyes softening the effect. She wrapped her arms around him and looked up into his eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too," said Harry. Not only were the words easy to say, but it seemed as though something hot and warm had seeped into his heart and his soul. There was a sense of completion so absolute that he was momentarily frightened. "I … you … I … just hold me."

Harry pulled Ginny closer to him, exhausted mentally and physically.

Molly awoke with a start and reached over to where Harry and Ginny were standing, talking right by the bed. She touched Ginny, then Harry, and then said, "You're both alive! I dreamt you were both dead, that everybody in the family was dead, that You-Know-Who had killed us all. Are we all alive?"

"Not all of us, Mum," said Ginny, sadly. She was scared of sending her mother into another downward spiral, but there was no use in hiding the truth so that it would be more difficult to deal with later. "Fred's dead."

"It's my fault. All of it is my fault!" said Harry, with that tone of recrimination so familiar to Ginny and Molly. He was still tired. He'd only had four hours of sleep or he might not have mentioned Horcruxes, but he said, "We didn't find the Horcruxes fast enough. There was too much we didn't know, and we wasted so much time last winter, and I should have confronted Vol …Riddle sooner and why did your whole family have to be involved? Mrs. Weasley, I'm so sorry." Harry burst into tears. He couldn't ever remember weeping so much in his entire life as he had so far that day. Perhaps Voldemort's presence had masked his own thoughts and emotions, deadening them, so that now he felt things more acutely? Or was it the trauma of the last few days taking such a heavy toll on him? He would never really know, but certainly something had changed within him.

"One of my sons is dead," said Molly, clumsily getting out of bed. She smiled fondly at Harry. "But one has come back to life. And Bellatrix Lestrange, damn her to Hell, I really killed her?" Harry and Ginny both nodded yes.

"Harry, when they said you were dead, I thought I had lost another son," Molly continued. "We love you like a son." Molly held Harry and Ginny, while Harry and Ginny both softly cried. It was hard to tell whose tears were whose; they'd all just let go so completely. Grief, joy and relief all met up in a torrent of emotions.

Finally, Harry, feeling a bit embarrassed by his recent outbursts, said, "Sorry I broke down and started crying. I should be stronger than that."

Molly looked Harry directly in the eye, and with all the emotion and sympathy she could muster, sternly said, "Harry, after all you have been through, you have every right to cry, to let your emotions out. Heaven knows you haven't had any time to grieve. This war has been hard on everybody, but in some ways harder on you. You-Know-Who brought so much death and destruction to so many! Thank you for ending him, for killing him, dear."

She caressed his cheek for a moment and pulled him into one her signature hugs, guaranteed to knock the breath out of a person.

Focusing for a moment solely on her mother, Ginny asked, "Mum, are you all right?"

"I don't know. Losing a child is so hard!" said Molly, sobbing a little at this. But she straightened her shoulders and got a far-away look in her eye. "I still feel empty from when I lost both of my brothers during the last war…and…and now this and… but…but you just move on." Molly had tears running down her face, and they could see she was trying hard to maintain control. "I am sorry, Ginny, that I lost it this afternoon. I still cannot believe that I could be mad enough to throw the Avada Kedavra curse. That BITCH!"

Molly took a deep breath, and it looked like she was going to lose what control she'd managed to cling to. "BITCH! BITCH! BITCH! BITCH! BITCH! May she forever…rot… in…Hell. I ought to be sorry I killed someone, but if anybody deserved death …Harry, were you dead?"

Harry and Ginny looked on in astonishment at Molly, as she gradually regained control after that complete change of topic in mid-sentence.

Harry looked at Molly and Ginny, saying in answer, "I was the last of the Horcruxes. Tom Riddle had to kill me to kill the part of his soul that was in me. Then, when Neville killed the snake, all I had to do was kill what was left, the shell of a body Riddle had. The hardest part was walking into the forest, walking by you, Ginny."

When Ginny heard this, she shouted out, "Harry, I felt you. I felt that you were walking out into the forest. I thought my heart would break. How could you?"

"It wasn't easy," Harry said, looking at the two women and then looking down at his trainers, which looked as though they'd been cleaned by Ginny as well. "It was really hard." Then Harry looked right at Ginny and said, "Ginny, when I walked by you, it would have been so easy to grab you and run away and hide. I was losing you forever. For a long time, I just did not think about the future, not like a future after the death of Riddle. I had no expectation of surviving. It made the walk to Voldemort so very difficult. Knowing that I would never see anyone again was the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

"When the curse hit me, I think I really was dead, but then I was given a chance to come back to life. It would have been so easy to have stayed dead; it was so peaceful, but I thought of all the people who were counting on me. I saw Dumbledore.

"We determined that I had a good chance of winning against Voldemort. I had only one trick up my sleeve, but I had to at least try it. Dumbledore pointed out that I had less to fear of dying than Voldemort did. That too would give me the advantage."

Ginny and Molly were both just amazed, standing there with their mouths agape. Molly found her voice first and said, "Oh, Harry, I had no idea! Oh my! What a horrible thing to have to do. What a brave, brave man you are!" Ginny held on to Harry so hard it was beginning to hurt.

Ron and Hermione were just coming down the stairs, and Ron saw Harry and Ginny hugging and yelled, "Potter, what do you think you are doing?! Stay away from my sister!" Harry was tired and hurting and did not want to confront Ron, so he just sat down.

Ron was threatening Ginny's happy ending, and she went over to him, put her hands on her hips and began to yell. "RONALD WEASLEY, BACK OFF. HARRY BROKE UP WITH ME TO TRY AND PROTECT ME, BUT WE – NEVER – STOPPED – LOVING EACH OTHER. You-Know-Who is dead and Harry and I are back together, so deal with it!" Then in a softer voice she added, "Besides, you need to worry about your own girlfriend, Hermione here, who has loved you for years, and you were too thick to see. Kiss her and butt out of my private life."

Ron stood there dumbfounded. Hermione turned to Ron, hoping for a kiss, and finally Ginny put her hands back on her hips again and yelled, "RONALD, HOW THICK ARE YOU? HERMIONE IS WAITING FOR A KISS. KISS HER NOW." Ginny then put her hands on Ron and turned him towards Hermione, and he bent down to give Hermione a little chaste kiss.

Hermione was having none of this little-chaste-kiss-stuff; she grabbed Ron and snogged him good, and gradually Ron returned the kiss. Hermione hugged Ron tightly, pressing her body against him, and Ron finally held Hermione tightly in return.

Harry thought Ginny was very much like her mother. When they got angry, there was the same raised voice and hands on the hips.

Ginny went back to hug Harry, but it was beginning to hurt even more, and he thought he could feel some blood seeping out of a new wound on his chest. Molly and Ginny both saw Harry in pain. Molly said, "Where is Fleur?!" Ginny remembered seeing Fleur and joined in, adding her "Fleur" to Molly's.

"Somebodee call? Let me wake up, pleeze," said Fleur in a tired voice, from one of the chairs.

Harry and Ginny both walked over to the chair where an exhausted Fleur had fallen asleep. Molly noticed that both of them were limping. Harry said, "Look at Ginny first, please," and Ginny shouted back, "HARRY, YOU IDIOT, you're the one bleeding."

Harry looked resigned, because he was bleeding and he really was hurting.

Ginny realized that, after all her thoughts about romance; she had just called Harry an idiot. Maybe Harry was not the only one not being particularly romantic? Bollocks! Nothing was going right!

Fleur looked at both of them and then said to Harry, "Take off your shirt, 'Arry." Harry's chest showed the effects of not only the killing curse but also all of the Cruciatus Curses Voldemort had thrown at him and all of the dirt that had rubbed into his wounds that he had not been able to wash out. The scar on his chest had pulled apart, and although it might have started out similar to the scar on Harry's forehead it was now open and really rough-looking. There was also a scar on Harry's chest, where the locket had rubbed against his skin, still looking raw, although not as bad as the others because of the Dittany Hermione had applied to it. There were also lots of scars, scratches and bruises from the last two days.

Fleur waved her wand over his chest and said, "Such strong curses, most people could not move after."

"Ginny made me forget how much I hurt, sort of," Harry said with a sigh.

Fleur was trying to hide a smirk at the young couple's obvious need to be together overruling common sense, but her own exhaustion caused her to fail miserably. Harry was obviously still in pain.

"'Arry, anyone else I would 'ave been in 'ospital for week! Hermione, take thees note to infirmary and get thees potions for 'Arry." Fleur then spent some time waving her wand over Harry, trying to heal bruises and close the scar on his chest.

Fleur then turned her attention to Ginny. "New curses too close to old scars," she said. Ginny nodded her head yes. Ginny was obviously in some pain and still tired as well. Fleur did some wand work on Ginny, and when Hermione got back, she sent Ron up for potions for Ginny.

Before leaving, Ron asked, "Is anybody else hungry?" All of the Weasley's indicated that they were.

Harry said, "Can we eat in here? I'm not ready to face crowds of people yet."

Molly told Ron, "Go find Charlie and Fre… I mean George – and tell them to come here."

"Here we are," Charlie answered from the other side of the bed. George, Lee Jordan and Angelina Johnson's heads also appeared from that side of the room.

Fleur turned her attention back to Harry now that she had some potions to work with. There wasn't much she could do about the one he told her was from a killing curse. Fleur was well aware that, to anyone's knowledge, Harry was the only one to have been hit by one and survive. She asked, "'Arry, what did zey do zee last time zis happened, when you were baby?"

Harry had no idea, but he knew that Hagrid and Professor McGonagall had been with Dumbledore when he, Harry, had been dropped off on the Dursley's doorstep. In the end, after poking and prodding at the lightning bolt on Harry's forehead, hoping to get more information and not learning anything new, she just gave up trying to find any new treatment.

Meanwhile, she had some lotion to rub into Harry's cuts, and Fleur, remembering how she felt when she'd treated Bill's cuts, turned to Ginny and asked, "Ginny, do you want to do zis?"

"Yes, please," said Ginny, and she rubbed the lotion into Harry's raw-looking chest, trying to look lovingly at Harry while she was doing it. Unfortunately, Harry was still in quite a lot of pain, and the loving looks went mostly unnoticed.

Ginny could usually read Harry pretty well. When he looked at her, Harry was obviously very glad she was there. The lust, however, the animal romantic attraction they'd had for each other when they kissed the previous year seemed to have disappeared. Harry seemed too tired to want to, or maybe he just really liked her but didn't want her that way anymore? Maybe she should have used the spell with four or five or six flicks. WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HER?

Of course, the simple fact was that Harry WAS too tired, too physically and emotionally drained, and it was going to take at least a little more sleep and time to recharge before he could physically feel the animal emotions. Harry was just too tired to tell anyone anything, but he was sorry for all the pain.

When Ginny was done with the lotion, Fleur bound his chest in bandages to keep the wound from opening up anymore. She told him (and Ginny, knowing that men tend to ignore such orders) to change it regularly.

Harry put his shirt back on and said, "Kreacher," and the house-elf appeared. Instead of asking for food right away, Harry paused and then said, "Kreacher, thank you for all you have done for me, for rallying the house-elves to fight Tom Riddle. Is there anything I can do for you?" Harry was not sure why he asked, but he had not thanked Kreacher at all since the battle and felt it was time.

"May Kreacher talk to Mr. William Weasley? Mr. William is not Kreacher's master," said Kreacher.

"You may talk to Bill Weasley and to anyone he asks you to talk to and do anything he asks you to do. If you have any doubts or questions, you can ask me, but I want you to feel free to help as you see fit. I order you to do what you think is best for me and the Wizarding community, without having to ask me for permission.

"There must be something you or the house-elves want that I could do for you."

Kreacher stood there looking embarrassed. "House-elves is not supposed to ask masters to do for them."

But Harry replied, "After all house-elves have done for us for all of these centuries, after fighting for us at the battle, please. What can we do for you?"

"Kreacher is not asking for himself," Kreacher said, still obviously embarrassed and ill-at-ease. "Two house-elves died in fighting, and other house-elves wanted to know if they could be buried in a grave with marker like you dug for Dobby. Sorry, I should not ask. Kreacher is bad house-elf."

Harry immediately grabbed onto the back of Kreacher's towel before the elf could do himself harm.

"As far as I am concerned, you are a very good house-elf," Harry said firmly, before letting go of Kreacher. "That is just what I wanted to know. Is there a graveyard for house-elves around here?"

Kreacher said, "There is a place where house-elves is buried, but no markers, no one knows where but house-elves."

Harry replied, "Well, then we need a proper graveyard with markers! Can you wait a couple of days until we have a little time? I will make sure the two hero house-elves that died have a proper burial with grave markers!"

Kreacher replied, "Elves will wait as long as it takes. We has already waited centuries."

Kreacher still stood there like he wanted to ask Harry something but could not get it out. Harry said, "Thank you again for all you have done for us, for rallying the house-elves. Is there anything else we can do for you, or anything else you want to ask me? Please feel free to talk to me."

"Kreacher just wants to do what is best for Master Harry and for his world," Kreacher said.

Harry looked right at Kreacher and gently said, "Then I order you to do what is best for Harry Potter and his world, without having to ask, but I also order you to do what is best for Kreacher and for house-elves, what will make your conditions better, without having to ask. I also don't want you to punish yourself under any circumstances, even if you think you've done something wrong." Harry added the last, knowing that house-elves could interpret even a slight mistake as a failure, hurting themselves in punishment.

Kreacher responded quietly and was obviously pondering what Harry had said. His expression was one of awe, confusion and not a little amount of fear. "Asking Kreacher to do without being told is not easy, not what house-elves do. Subversive. Kreacher will try." Then louder and with more confidence, "Does Master need anything?"

Harry said, "Can you please bring a simple supper for the Weasley family, well for everybody here?" Harry sort of waved at the group of people around the room.

With a crack Kreacher was gone. A few minutes later another house-elf appeared with a simple supper of tomato soup and various meat sandwiches. "Sorry, Kreacher is busy," said the house-elf, and he was gone.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other. "I have never lived with a house-elf," said Hermione, "but delegating someone else to serve food to your master? Strange! Kreacher isn't just your servant anymore." Both Harry and Hermione pondered the changing relationship between Kreacher and Harry.

Ginny turned the bed back into a sofa, and the family ate quietly for the most part.

Fleur ate a sandwich, sat back down and promptly fell asleep again. As soon as Ron and Hermione had finished eating, a first year Gryffindor girl came in with her mother, father and baby sister. Hermione looked at a list, took them to a dorm, came back down and sat next to Ron. She looked at Ron and smiled, put her head in his lap with a contented smile on her face, and she too fell asleep.

Ron was exhausted. He'd had only about three hours of sleep this afternoon because he and Hermione had determined to take shifts to guard Harry, after almost two days awake before Harry had won, but he had a hard time napping. It was late afternoon, and he hoped they could get a good night's sleep soon. He kept looking at Hermione, not really believing what was happening between them. Ron always knew that Hermione was a girl and not a boy, but how come he never realized that he could think of her like THAT? Could she kiss! And she had all the right female parts, well, when she grabbed on tight and rubbed her body against him and kissed, it was pretty obvious that she was female, and she seemed to like him and could she kiss!

Harry was awake after his nap, sort of, but his mind was just numb. Harry sat at one end of a sofa, leaning back with Ginny leaning into him. Two days or more awake and a short nap in the afternoon just wasn't enough. He could not sleep, but he was maybe not fully awake. Having Ginny touching him was comforting. He had been terrified that he would lose her, even if he somehow lived through the battle with Riddle, but it seemed that she wanted him back. Beyond that, Harry couldn't think. There was still too much chaos to think that things were over. Too much chaos and too much sorrow and Harry felt that he was responsible for way too much of the sorrow.

And here was Ginny, and it felt right, and unfair to all the people who had lost everything, all at the same time. Harry thought he ought to be bawling over all of the deaths, all of the pain he had caused and he did not even have the strength to cry. He was just drained.

After the meal was done, Ginny just sat silently with her head on Harry's chest.

She was terrified that things were not turning out like she imagined them. Fred was dead. Her mother was not in good shape, and several other people seemed to be in bad shape as well. Harry held her hand and said that he loved her. But was that real, was that permanent? Was she going to get her Happily Ever After ending, or was some other witch going to come and steal Harry away?

Nothing would make all of the horrible hurts go away, the scars mental and physical, but would she at least get Harry? She was small, she was young, and she had to fight for everything she ever got, fight to be allowed to grow up. Was she going to have to fight for Harry too? She was not going to give up Harry without a fight! Harry, or her family, or … 'I cannot let Harry see me crying. This is too much, really, but … concentrate on Harry.' Ginny looked up at Harry. 'Smile at him. Hold his hand. Don't let him know you're scared.'

But Harry wasn't looking at her, Ginny thought. He wasn't looking at anyone. Harry was, if not asleep, not really awake and aware either.

Harry seemed numb, Ginny thought. He seemed close to tears.

Harry had won, but where was the victory? Where was the joy and celebration?

Why was everyone so tired and so sad?

Bollocks!

* * *

Authors Notes.

The plan is to have a series of stories. This is the first year. The next story is titled **Broomsticks and Bad Guys** and covers Ginny's Quidditch career and the capture of the last of the Death Eaters. There will be a third story covering the birth of the children, and a fourth, focusing more on the next generation, covering the years before Albus and Rose go to Hogwarts.

The story is in rough draft all the way through the end. My beta LadymBlack and I are revising and rewriting it, and my "does it sound British" beta PokePotterfan93 is checking for "Americanisms".

Jet LaBarge


	2. Ch 2, Meanwhile, Gringotts & Ministry

Almost Happily Ever After, First Year

Ch. 2 Meanwhile, at Gringotts and back at the Ministry

Arthur looked at his daughter and thought about saying something to her, but decided to let it pass. Arthur knew that there was another reason he was keeping Harry and Ginny together, and that he was playing with fire in doing so.

* * *

Bill Weasley came striding into Gringotts, and was immediately met by Kreacher, who said, "We needs to talks, Mr. William. Urgents."

Kreacher looked exhausted and dirty from the battle, but there was no doubt that he was serious.

Meanwhile, Grabhook, the son of Griphook, had come up to Bill, saying, "Why are you here? Who do you represent right now, the bank or others?"

"Right now, I am representing the Ministry, trying to make sure supporters of Voldemort are not taking money out of Ministry accounts or stolen money out of their accounts."

"Also Harry Potter," Kreacher said to Bill. "Important, you is also representing Harry Potter."

"I am also representing Harry Potter," Bill said, wondering what this was about, but not about to defy Kreacher right now.

There was a huge roar from a large group of people, a group that seemed to be growing by the minute.

"We will make sure that all doubtful accounts are frozen," Grabhook said. "Why would you be representing Harry Potter?"

"Kreacher says so," Kreacher said. "Kreacher is Harry Potter's house-elf, and Kreacher say so. Harry's Ginny William's sister. Mr. Weasley and Kreacher needs private talk now!"

Bill and Kreacher were led to a tiny private room, and Bill did several privacy spells. He then turned to Kreacher and said, "Harry's Ginny! Already?"

"Soon enough," Kreacher said. "If no one stops. Needs to be. Needs to be!"

"Why, what is going on?" asked Bill.

"Harry Potter killed Voldemort, Tom Riddle," Kreacher said, as though this should be perfectly obvious.

"I know," Bill said. "We were both there and, I think, saw it. So?"

"Single duel, wand to wand," Kreacher said.

"Oh," Bill said, beginning to get the point. In his curse-breaking career he had dealt with a lot of estates, and a few duels. "Harry inherited something from Riddle?"

"Oh, lotses and lotses of somethings!" Kreacher exclaimed. "Everythings. No estate, no heirs, no partners, no trust, no nothings, Harry gets everythings."

Bill got a quizzical look on his face. "Because Tom Riddle made no provisions in case he died, and Harry killed him in a single duel, the old Wizarding law applies, and Harry inherits everything? I knew Riddle killed several families and stole their estates. How many families? How many Galleons?"

"Maybe a hundred families, millions and millions and millions of Galleons," Kreacher said.

"Honest money?" asked Bill.

"No, no, not all honest," Kreacher said. "Stolen and lots of bad. Ministry needs some of money. Very complicated. Mr. William knows about moneys. Harry Potter not know moneys. Mr. William needs to protect Harry Potter's moneys."

"And you, Kreacher?" asked Bill.

"Goblins lie. Goblins lazy and not find everything. But goblins cannot lie to honest house-elf of honest wizard. Mr. William needs Kreacher. But Kreacher not supposed to work for Mr. William. Is subversives. Even if Harry Potter gives permissions is subversives, but is best."

'Merlin!' thought Bill. 'This is going to get complicated.'

"I have one more question, Kreacher," Bill said. "I heard that Riddle killed the Rothchilds who owned the Swiss Valley that holds the treasures of the Wizarding community, where the International Council of Witches and Wizards is headquartered. But he never inherited the valley or was even allowed on the council? Why, and did that pass to Harry?"

"Like trying to steal a dragon egg that one," said Kreacher. "Riddle cannot meet the requirements to inherit. You see his face?"

Bill nodded yes.

"No nose," Kreacher said, pointing to his own long nose.

Bill nodded again.

"No pokey down here either," Kreacher said pointing towards his privates. "Cannot make baby, cannot inherit Swiss valley. No pokey, no inherit."

Bill started to chuckle. "Pokey?" Bill started to visualize him and Fleur; making love to a Veela, Bill really had no basis for comparison, but he knew both he and Fleur …

"NOT HELPFUL!" Kreacher shouted. "Pleasant thinking of mate, but not helpful right now."

"Sorry," Bill meekly said, thinking, 'Pokey? That was pretty graphic and not at all romantic.'

Kreacher then said, "Needs to get documents giving William Weasley power to manage Harry Potter Estate, need to get signed by Harry Potter tonight."

"I'll do my best. What next? Talk to the Goblins?" Bill asked.

Kreacher nodded yes, and together they left the room.

Again they were met by a huge crowd, but Bill walked right up to Grabhook and said, "Kreacher and I need a private meeting with the bank first."

Grabhook and several other Goblins led Bill and Kreacher into a private office.

"What do I have to do next?" asked Bill.

"Who is going to pay for the damages to the bank?" asked a Goblin. "Harry Potter does not get anything until the damages to the bank are taken care of."

"I assume Harry will pay for them. It sounds like there is enough money in the estates," Bill replied.

"Lots of money," Grabhook said. "Lots and lots and lots of money, hundreds of millions of Galleons. We Goblins will add up the damages. We want the sword of Gryffindor back, although we do not think we will get it. Wizards always cheat goblins with their laws."

"I will mention it to Harry," Bill said. "I do not know what we can do about the magic that lets the sword magically appear in the hands of a true Gryffindor, but maybe some sort of arrangement can be worked out."

"You need permissions. You need a good lawyer to draw up documents," Grabhook said.

"Marge Baker is the best one not working for Gringotts," Bill said. "I will see her before going to the Ministry."

"Marge is acceptable," Grabhook replied. "You need Harry not to cheat the goblins. You need Harry to marry your sister."

Bill was rather taken aback by the brutal frankness of the last statement, and looked at the goblins. "I'm not worried about Harry cheating you. I guess I'm probably not really too worried about Harry and Ginny, eventually, although, I am a little concerned about how fast you are pushing it."

"The Money will be able wait," Grabhook replied. "The Ministry may not be able to wait. The Ministry is broke. Gringotts will wait."

Bill looked at Kreacher, who nodded. "Merlin, dragon dung," Bill swore under his breath. "What have I gotten myself into?"

* * *

Kingsley Shacklebolt strode into the Ministry and went straight to the auditorium, followed by Arthur and Percy Weasley. Kingsley put his wand to his throat and said, "_Sonorus!_" and then said in a loud and commanding voice, "The wizard Tom Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort, has been killed by Harry Potter. His body lies at Hogwarts. He is not coming back this time. HE IS DEAD.

His supporters have mostly fled.

Pius Thickness, who was fighting on the side of Riddle, has resigned, giving me the keys to his office.

I want all department heads or acting department heads or, if everybody in any position of authority has fled, the most senior staffer to meet here in the auditorium. Anyone on the Wizengamot needs to be here too. We need to do some things as soon as possible

Within ten minutes, the auditorium was reasonably full.

Kingsley, with the support of Arthur and Percy, then had the Wizengamot pass a series of emergency laws, freeing any Muggle-born convicted of having stolen magic or any other crimes related to opposing the administration of Pius Thickness, and appoint Kingsley as temporary Minster of Magic.

Kingsley then appointed Arthur Weasley as head of Magical Law Enforcement. Kingsley also appointed Percy Weasley as his own Administrative Assistant.

The mechanics of freeing anyone falsely imprisoned was done within a half hour of the arrival of Kingsley; actually getting everyone released took a little longer.

From that time on, Arthur and Percy Weasley were at the centre of the government of the British Wizarding world.

Late in the afternoon, Bill Weasley finally walked into the Ministry. He had sent communications to Kingsley and the accounting department, letting them know that many accounts were now frozen until they could see what was going on, to make sure no one was going to rob the Ministry anymore.

When Bill came in, he was expected, and he was rushed into the chaotic office of the new Minister of Magic. Arthur Weasley was there, along with two other people.

Kingsley greeted him, saying, "Bill, I want to introduce you to Jane Smith, the closest thing we have to a head of finance at this time, and Al VanLente, from North America, head of the International Auror Association. Jane, what is the state of our finances right now?"

Jane answered, "Maybe enough cash for two weeks. Strange things have been happening with finances ever since Voldemort took over, and we cannot figure out where all the money went."

Al said, "It's going to be a tough sell to tell the countries sending Aurors and other Witches and Wizards to help, that Britain is broke. Do your best to find some money."

Bill replied, "A lot is going on. Goblins are always honest, as they say, but they are not always helpful. There is a connection between house-elves and goblins that most wizards do not comprehend. When a house-elf needs to get money to buy something his master wants, there is a special area at Gringotts where house-elves go, very private. Harry burying Dobby and his friendship with Kreacher has changed something. With Kreacher's help, the goblins are becoming helpful! There may be money available, lots of stolen money that we can get fairly quickly. The only problem is that only Harry can access the money."

Kingsley looked surprised, saying, "Only Harry? No one else?"

"Only the person who defeated Voldemort, or a relative, can get into most of the vaults," Bill confirmed. "I can get permission to figure out where the money is, but then we need to get into the vaults. Only Harry can get into the vaults."

"Only Harry?" asked Jane, reiterating Kingsley's previous question.

"I think only Harry or his wife, of course he's not married, but if he was, his wife could get into the vaults the first time. After that it gets a little easier. Relative by blood or marriage could do most of what needs to be done once the vaults have been opened that first time. The goblins would like me to help, but it is not easy. The only quick way to solve the problem is for Harry to marry my sister, Ginny. Any other possible solutions would take years.

The good news is that Ginny has always wanted Harry, and I think Harry may feel the same way.

The bad news is that Ginny is sixteen, and from what I'm told we don't have a lot of choice but to rely on Harry, for the time being."

"Bill," said Arthur, his brows furrowed in thought, "are you telling me that if Harry and Ginny are back together, we should encourage it and not discourage it?"

Bill looked at his father, not knowing quite how to answer. "Dad, I'm just stating a problem. Maybe Kreacher can help. He is Harry's house-elf and he has been a part of these discussions. Kreacher, can you come here please?"

There was a crack, and Kreacher was in the room. Bill asked, "Kreacher, are Harry and Ginny back together?" Kreacher nodded yes. "Should they be together?" Kreacher strongly nodded. "What do we need to do to encourage them?"

"Just keep them together. Old magic will work very quickly, Kreacher thinks," Kreacher said. There was more discussion on just what various people were going to do during the next 24 hours and, to the surprise of everyone, Kreacher stayed and listened.

Kreacher walked out of the room with Bill and Arthur and said, "Kreacher has Harry's permission to work with you, Mr. William. He has asked Kreacher to use his own judgment. That is, by far, the hardest order Kreacher has ever been given. Help me to do the right thing, Mr. William."

"Thank you, Kreacher," said Bill. "Doing the right thing is often not easy, but you are doing what Harry would want you to do." Bill was beginning to feel very sorry for the old house-elf. Just obeying orders, especially when you have been bred and charmed to obey orders, was easy. Having to make your own moral and ethical judgments was hard for anybody, but for a house-elf it must be torture. Bill could see why the goblins had gotten Kreacher involved in the Potter estate issues as soon as Harry had killed Tom Riddle; it was probably necessary.

"Keep Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley together," Kreacher said. "Needs to keep them working together."

"I think I have a job for them for the next couple of days," Arthur said. "Of course, the family will have to sleep apart."

"NO!" Kreacher said. "Dangerous. Family must stay together."

"He's probably right," Arthur said. "I don't think it's a really good idea if Ginny's off by herself right now. It's still really dangerous out there. Hogwarts is probably safer, but not safe enough."

hr /

Back at Hogwarts, it was about six thirty when the Daily Prophet finally arrived.

**SPECIAL EVENING EDITION!**

**Saturday, May 2, 1998**

**VOLDEMORT DEAD!/center/b**

**HARRY POTTER KILLS LORD VOLDEMORT IN DUEL**

**DEATH EATERS ON THE RUN**

**KINGSLEY SHACKLEBOLT TEMPORARY MINISTER OF MAGIC**

**MINERVA McGONAGALL TEMPORARY HEAD OF HOGWARTS/strong**

_Many details unclear. Hogwarts and the Ministry in chaos. You are asked not to try to go to either place until things are under control. We will have many more details tomorrow. Please excuse us if the next couple of editions are late._

On the front page of the one-page paper, there was the limited amount of information that the paper knew about what Harry, Ron and Hermione had been doing the last months, plus some information on what others had been doing. Little of it was really new. There was also a little information on the Battle of Hogwarts, but the article was very incomplete.

On the back, there was an article from Rita Skeeter about, "The Life and Loves of Harry Potter." Most of it was a rewriting of her previous articles on the subject. She finished up with, "We can only speculate what Harry Potter and Hermione Granger have been doing these last months. We do not see how Ron Weasley could hold much attraction for Miss Granger. As for poor little Ginny Weasley, who Harry dated briefly last year, it is hard to see how a little witch with such modest skills and looks could compete with all of the witches who are going to be after the Famous Harry Potter."

Someone gave Harry one of the copies, and he read the front, looked at the Rita Skeeter article on the back but did not read it, and passed the one page newspaper to Ginny. He said, to no one in particular, "They didn't say enough about Ron or Hermione or any of the rest of you or anybody else. The headline makes it sound like it was mostly me! I hope tomorrow they give others credit."

"Harry," Ginny said incredulously, "You were just telling Mum and me how you had to allow Voldemort to kill you, to sacrifice yourself, before he was killed. And then, after you came back you, YOU, you were the one who duelled him and killed him. Yes, other people helped, but give yourself some credit! In the end you did it."

Harry reminded Ginny "Call him Tom Riddle, not Lord anything, please. He was just a man." He looked at Ginny and tried to think of something else to say, trying not to be such a big hero, but decided that this was an argument he was probably not going to win, and one red headed female he did not want to be fighting with.

Ginny finally read the last article. It was all Ginny could do to keep from exploding. "Poor little Ginny Weasley…with her modest skills and looks…" Harry Potter was HERS! Ginny was terrified. Already, others were trying to take Harry away from her. How many older, bigger, better looking witches would be after HER Harry? 'NO! NO! I'll show them!' she thought.

George took the paper from Ginny and read the last article. He looked at his sister and at the last sentence in the article and looked at his sister again, looked at her looking at Harry.

George showed the article to Ron and Charlie, and Ron related the scene he had walked in on earlier. They all looked at Ginny and Harry again as the three brothers continued their discussion.

When Ginny was done reading the paper, Harry got up and pulled Ginny up with him. The article had got him thinking and, in response, he went over to Ron and Hermione to have a word. Ron gently woke Hermione up, looking at Harry expectantly.

"We still have a job to do," Harry said quietly.

Ron nodded as they all looked at each other. Then the two couples left, Ron and Hermione holding hands, Harry and Ginny holding hands.

Molly noticed, as they left, that Ginny seemed to be part of the Harry, Ron, Hermione group, and that they were two couples now. She wondered how long this would last. She thought back to some of the conversations over the last month or so, when Ginny had told her that Harry was the only boy she'd ever loved, that she had had boyfriends but Harry was the only one she could ever see marrying and spending the rest of her life with. Seeing Ginny and Harry together both pleased and worried her. They were so young, about as young as she and Arthur were when they'd become intimate, too young really.

"We need to put the Elder Wand back," Harry said as he led the way from the room with his three dearest friends in tow.

"What is the Elder Wand?" asked Ginny, as they walked. "And where are we going?"

"To Dumbledore's tomb," Harry told her, as the two couples walked through the shattered castle and out onto the grounds. Harry tried to share with Ginny something about the Elder Wand and the part it had played in ending Riddle. The whole story was so complicated that he could only share little bits of it, and in the end he had to promise to tell the entire story from beginning to end. There were a few people around, as they walked and talked, who were trying to clean up and repair the castle, though not many, so they were more or less alone.

The walk to the tomb was through a grassy area that was full of the evidence of the battles that had been raging around the castle. As they were approaching the tomb, Harry continued, "As powerful as this wand is, I don't want it. Too much death, too many black things are tied to this wand."

Ron shook his head as his friend's resolve. "I still think you're crazy, not keeping the most powerful wand in the world."

But Hermione piped up in support of Harry, reminding them that, "Dumbledore's portrait said this is the right thing to do too."

The tomb was shattered, and Dumbledore's body was lying exposed. Fawkes the Phoenix was sitting atop the largest fragment of the broken tomb, watching Harry with bright, piercing eyes. Harry put the wand back and re-covered the body with the cloth wrappings. He then touched the edge of the tomb that was left standing and said in a loud voice, "_Reparo!_" Harry could feel the power emanate from his wand. He had never felt such a powerful spell. In less than a minute, the tomb was repaired, and looked like it had never been broken. Fawkes hovered above the now sealed tomb, seemingly inspecting Harry's work. Apparently satisfied, he settled back on the restored monument to his former master Dumbledore, shifting his intense gaze to Harry.

Ron and Hermione backed away from Harry, startled by the power behind his spell. Ginny grabbed onto his hand but looked somewhat frightened. Ron looked at the wand in Harry's hand and, in a quiet voice, said, "Are you sure you put the right wand back in the tomb?"

Harry looked at his wand, feeling a bit surprised himself, but it was the familiar Holly and Phoenix feather wand that he held in his hand. It just felt, not heavier, but different. Harry could never explain the difference. Years later, the closest he could ever come was "It is the same wand, but just more." Right then, Harry tried to levitate a leaf, and it flew up out of sight. He tried levitating other small things he found lying around, and they did the same. It took nearly ten attempts with the simple spell for him to get some measure of control back.

Harry said, "This is different. I'm going to have to practice using the wand all over again. It feels right, really right, like it is the wand I've been using all of these years, but something has changed."

Hermione said, "Harry, you were doing all the spells without saying anything."

Harry replied, with a questioning look on his face, "The wand seems to be reading my mind, like it does when I am doing non-verbal spells, but easily. I could get used to this!"

His friends regarded him warily, but Harry simply smiled, pocketed his wand, as though it was an ordinary occurrence, and once again took Ginny by the hand. Harry and Ginny led the way back to the castle, with Ron and Hermione following a short distance behind, quietly talking to each other. Up in the sky, Fawkes flew along with the group as though he belonged.

Harry had his arm around Ginny, and Ginny was holding on to Harry as they walked. Ginny's hand was roaming over Harry in a sensuous way, which was both pleasant and distracting, but for the moment, Harry was just enjoying it. Just before they entered the front door, Ginny put her arms around Harry's upper back, pushing her body into him in a way that made Harry very aware that she was bustier than he remembered. His hands roamed from her narrow waist to her bottom, further reminding Harry that Ginny's figure was even sexier and more enticing than he'd remembered. Ginny was really pushing herself into Harry. Harry was getting worried that this display was too public at least, if not too much too soon. Just as he was getting ready to break it off Ron said, "Harry, quit feeling up my sister. Oh, hi, Dad."

"Hi, Ron, Hermione, hi, Harry, hello, Ginevra," said Arthur Weasley, one eyebrow raised.

Ginny backed away from Harry and grabbed his hand but held it at a distance. She knew that tone of voice, and when her dad called her 'Ginevra' like that she was usually in trouble.

"Where is the rest of the family?" asked Arthur.

Ron said, "In the Gryffindor common room, I think."

As they walked into the castle, a boys' bathroom appeared and Arthur said to Harry, "Come with me, please." Harry followed, worried that he was going to get a severe talking-to from Arthur.

Arthur turned to verify they were alone as the door closed behind them before turning back to Harry. In a firm but kind voice, he began, "Harry, I'm happy you and Ginny are together, but slow down. I don't think you can count on that hot-blooded red-head to tell you to slow down, so I'm asking you. Please, do your best. She is not even 17. Please, do your best to slow her down."

Harry answered, "I thought you were going to bawl me out. I'm sorry."

Arthur looked at the young man whom he loved as a son, the one who had been through so much, and said, "I think I can trust you to be a gentleman, but Molly is protective of her only daughter and I would not want to get on the her bad side."

"No, Sir. I don't either," Harry assured him, shaking his head in the negative for emphasis.

"Then I have your word, Harry?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, Sir, I will try," Harry promised, not wanting to make a promise he might not be able to keep.

"That's all we can ask of you, Harry. And as one man to another, who also loves a passionate red-headed woman, good luck." Arthur's expression was one of understanding, but also parental concern and Harry understood the faith being placed in him. Arthur wasn't sure if he should add anything else, his mind full of what Bill had told him earlier about allowing Ginny and Harry to recapture the love that they'd begun to experience a year ago. It wasn't easy, especially knowing that Harry was in for a rough time, trying to rein in his high-spirited daughter.

Fawkes had followed Harry into Hogwarts castle, but not into the bathroom. As soon as Arthur and Harry came out of the bathroom, Fawkes spread his wings and left the head of the statue he had been resting on, and continued to follow Harry. The phoenix seldom let Harry out of his sight during the two weeks Harry was at Hogwarts, but remained unobtrusively in the background.

Meanwhile, Ginny followed Ron and Hermione into the Gryffindor common room, followed moments later by Arthur and Harry. Although the rest of the people in the room had finished eating, there was a modest amount of food left. Together, they made short work of it.

Arthur left to speak with Professor McGonagall.

Bill Weasley came bustling into the room, followed by Kreacher. "I have some papers for you to sign," Bill said, approaching Harry. "I need to handle some financial affairs for you."

Harry signed about a dozen parchments.

"Do you want to hear about your estate?" Bill asked.

"Now?" a very tired Harry replied. "I'm exhausted. I'm not thinking straight."

"No needs," Kreacher said, moving to put a pillow behind Harry's back and lifting his feet onto a small ottoman that he'd conjured. "Harry Potter needs to rest. William Weasley and Kreacher take care of, if Harry Potter says we can."

"Please, both of you, take care of all the money stuff," Harry said, feeling a little uncomfortable over Kreacher's fawning, but trusting his and Bill's ability to look after his finances completely.

"Kreacher will do what the noblest Harry Potter, friend of house-elves and goblins, says," Kreacher replied. "Be fair to everybody?"

"Yes, Kreacher, be fair to everybody, goblins, even house-elves," Harry said.

"Be fair to house-elves?" Kreacher questioned.

"Yes, Kreacher, be fair to house-elves, including yourself. That's an order."

"Subversive!" Kreacher replied, almost in the undertone voice he had used before Harry had given him the locket. "Kreacher obey most noble Harry Potter, friend of house-elves and goblins."

Arthur returned, just as evening was turning to night. He and Molly went over to a corner, and Harry and Ginny watched as the couple talked, hugged, cried, and then talked some more. When it seemed they'd come to some decision, he called the family together again.

"We are lucky we are not all dead," he began. He paused a moment, knowing that, like him, they were all thinking about the people that had been lost. "Thank you, Harry, and thanks to all of you. We were so close to losing this war." Arthur stopped there, to let this revelation sink in. His voice had started to break. His eyes had begun to tear up and he removed his glasses to wipe his face with a handkerchief. It was how he said it, more than the words he'd used, that impressed on everybody just how afraid Arthur had been about losing his whole family to Riddle.

Arthur continued, "We are just beginning to find out how much damage Voldemort and his allies did; most of it before Voldemort was killed but some of it in a brief spasm of violence that occurred afterwards. The amount of death and destruction is staggering, and it ranges far beyond Hogwarts castle."

"Call him Tom Riddle, please" Harry said to Arthur.

"Oh, yes, Tom Riddle" Arthur said. "Shortly after Harry destroyed Vol … Riddle, Kingsley Shacklebolt approached Percy and me and asked us to come to the Ministry. The Ministry is in terrible shape. Kingsley needed some people he could trust completely right away. Bill was asked to go to Gringotts to make sure Death Eaters were not drawing big amounts of money either out of their personal accounts or out of Ministry accounts, and we have we think stopped the looting of the Ministry.

Way too many of the Death Eaters and their allies escaped right after the battle. Unfortunately, the Ministry does not have enough people to protect Hogwarts or some of the key people that are going to be targets of the escaped Death Eaters. They are really in a desperate shape. Percy and I will be working twelve hours or more a day, seven days a week for at least the next two weeks or more. Also, Minerva is going to need help here, and, if you agree, I'd like to volunteer our extended family to spend the next two weeks here helping out."

Arthur paused, looking expectantly around at their gathered midst. All seemed to be nodding or otherwise, tentatively in agreement with what he was saying so he went on.

"Thank you," Arthur said, again having a hard time controlling his emotions. "I cannot begin to explain how desperate our situation is right now. After these two weeks we hope to have support from foreign Auror's and other foreign help available to us as well, and we hope the situation at Hogwarts will be stabilized."

Again it seemed that all within the extended Weasley family agreed and understood.

Arthur continued, "Minerva is at the edge of exhaustion. She cannot work 24 hours a day. All of the professors are working together, trying to fix Hogwarts, and so the first need we've identified is someone to supervise at night. Molly has agreed to work a night shift, 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM. Charlie, George, can you also work night shift, guarding the castle and helping in any way you can?"

Charlie and George looked at each other. "Yeah, sure, Dad, anything we can do to help," Charlie assured him as the two nodded in agreement. Lee Jordan and Angelina Johnson also nodded in agreement and Arthur thought that was probably a good thing, more people, just in case.

Arthur continued, shifting his attention to Ron and Hermione, "Would the two of you be willing to guard the Hogsmeade entrance from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM?" Ron and Hermione looked at each other, and then nodded yes. Arthur then focused on Hermione and asked, "Could you also work with Molly to assign sleeping quarters for Gryffindor? We may have a couple of additional rooms shortly, if they are in good shape." Hermione agreed.

Arthur then looked at Harry and Ginny and said, "Your job may be the hardest of all. We want you to be at the fireplace in the Great Hall, where most of the people will be arriving and leaving. You will be greeting the people who are going to be coming to pick up bodies. I expect that it will be an emotionally draining job, but, Harry, we think there is no better person than you to do this, and Molly and I feel that Ginny is the best person to support you in this. Are you willing?"

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, squeezed each other's hands, and nodded yes. Arthur noted that both of them looked worried at the prospect, but determined. He felt bad that he had given them the worst jobs of all, but he knew that both of them were compassionate and would do an extraordinarily good job of it. This had, of course, been discussed at the Ministry, and keeping those two together was certainly an important thing. He rather doubted that Harry and Ginny would have accepted jobs that kept them apart anyway.

Finally, Arthur said to the group, "The last thing we are going to be talking about is sleeping arrangements. Because of the danger to the extended Weasley family, and that includes Harry and Hermione, we want all of us to stay together and with Minerva's permission, we've appropriated the seventh-year boys' dormitory for the family. We are going to be crammed in there, but we have had to bring a number of terrified families here to Hogwarts to stay because there is no other safe space for them right now.

Bill and Fleur will return to their own house nightly, since it was the only one to never be breached. Everybody needs to be dressed in at least underwear or pyjamas for bed. No sleeping in the same bed. Do you understand?"

Ron and Hermione looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Harry nodded yes and looked at Ginny, who was obviously having some second thoughts about this arrangement.

Molly looked at Ginny and said in a quiet voice, that did not hide the passion in it, "Ginny Weasley, if Harry can be a gentleman, at least you can be a lady! Control yourself!"

"Yes, Mother," answered Ginny, with a wary look in her eyes.

Arthur looked at his daughter and thought about saying something to her, but decided to let it pass. Arthur knew that there was another reason he was keeping Harry and Ginny together, and that he was playing with fire in doing so. Instead, he said, "Finally, I want to say that Molly and I love you all, Lee, Angelina, Harry and Hermione included, and we are so proud of all of you. We could not ask for a better family."

Harry was just exhausted. Ginny was too, but she was still terrified. She had a hard time answering 'yes' to her parents, partly because she was not quite sure what the sleeping arrangements were going to be. It wasn't like she was going to jump right into bed with Harry for sex, not that she didn't want to, but she knew that was hardly possible. How separate did they want them? Maybe it wasn't right, but Ginny had to admit that, right then, she was terrified of letting Harry out of her sight. 'Don't cry, Ginny, don't cry,' she kept telling herself. 'Act like you're in control.'

Arthur motioned the two couples to follow him upstairs. Once he got there, he looked at the sleeping arrangements. Arthur sat down on one of the middle beds, utterly exhausted. "Once the four of you are down, I will go to bed."

Hermione and Ginny went into the bathroom to put on pyjamas. Hermione put hers on, and then noticed that Ginny was fussing with hers. She had shortened the pants until there was only an inch of pant-leg left, and was working on the top. She had a scooped neck, and was lowering it and raising it until she was satisfied that it showed enough cleavage, and showed a scar that started above her right breast. She raised the bottom of the top so it showed as much of her middle as she thought she could get away with, and fussed with the top so it would not ride up over her breasts too easily. Sometimes, Hermione was amazed at how much time Ginny could put into looking good, or maybe it was just that Ginny wanted to make the right impression on Harry. Well, if the right impression was to have Harry lust after Ginny, she was on the right track.

Ginny was thinking, 'I've got to show Harry I'm a grown up witch, not a little girl.' The article in the Prophet still terrified her. 'I grew up with boys, and you can usually tell when a boy is turned on. Physically, the sign is pretty obvious. Harry, I've got nice boobs! They are not all that small! I've got a nice butt and a narrow waist and I ought to be able to get you turned on, even without the '_touch- of- lust_' spell!'

As the two girls came out of the bathroom, Harry noticed that Hermione had on rather modest pyjamas, with long pants and a top that came down well over the top of her pants. It certainly did not hide her feminine shape, but Harry was used to that, after living with her in the tent for most of the last year. Hermione went into one of the beds on one side of Mr. Weasley, taking the bed closest to the door, and then said, "Thank you for fixing up the beds this way, Mr. Weasley. We really appreciate it!"

Ginny went and sat on one of the beds on the other side of Arthur, and motioned for Harry to come over to those beds. She raised her hands over her head and the top rose up, and then put her arms down under her breasts and pushed them up, showing off her shape, and grinned at Harry. He just stared at her. "Ginny, how am I ever going to go to sleep after that?" he whispered. "After what, Harry," Ginny said coyly, looking down at his pants. Praise Merlin, it seemed to be working.

Harry turned red when he realized where Ginny was looking and took another good look. He had noticed a rather large scar starting a couple of inches above her right breast. "What is that?" he asked, as he lost the physical signs of being turned on.

Ginny replied, a lot of pent up emotion in her voice, "A lot of good it did breaking up with me! Everybody knew I was your girlfriend, Potter's witch, so I got questioned often and hard. Besides, Neville and I were leading the DA." At this remark, Ginny had a very proud look on her face. Then, in a much more sombre tone, she added, "They put wands there," and she pointed out a large spot where the scar started, "and over time that scar developed. Umbridge showed them how to do it so that it hurt and left a scar. I think it's like the one on your hand," and she pointed out the scar on Harry's hand from detentions with Umbridge. There was another curse scar on Ginny's thigh.

Harry was horrified by looking at the scars. How could he ever make up to Ginny, for what he had put her through? He said, "Oh, Ginny, I'm so sorry! What can I do?"

Ginny answered in a firm voice, "Do - Not - Ever - Leave - Me - Again! Just treat me as your fairy princess and make me live Happily Ever After." Ginny leaned over to Harry and gave him a gentle kiss, and then held it for what seemed like forever. Eventually, Harry pointed out that Ginny's father was watching, and whispered, "We need to get to sleep." Ginny then slipped into one of the beds, smiling at Harry.

Harry looked at Arthur, who was trying very hard to stay awake. Arthur thought of the discussion at Kingsley's office this afternoon. He shrugged his shoulders at Harry, almost like, "she is your problem now." Ever since he saw how the girls interpreted the bedding arrangement, he was thinking of how he could change it to boys on one side and girls on the other, but Hermione had made his task several times more difficult. He had already given Harry a talking-to, and he really did not want to say any more to him. In the end, partly out of sheer exhaustion, he just let Ginny sleep next to Harry and Ron next to Hermione.

Harry shook his head. Ginny was obviously a much more pleasant problem than what he had been facing, but the next weeks were certainly going to get interesting.

Harry stripped down to his boxers at the side of his bed and got into it. Once they were in their beds, Ginny said in a quiet voice, "Are we going to have to meet families of the people killed?"

Harry said, "Oh yes, we are. I did some of that after the duel, and it was hard. I expect tomorrow is going to be even harder. I'm glad you are going to be with me. When your father said that our job was going to be the hardest of all, he was probably right." Harry and Ginny fell into an uneasy sleep.

hr /

_iReviews are the only way we know if we are doing a good job or not. I promise to answer every review, and with care. _

_Jet/i_


	3. Ch 3, Greeting the Greiving

Almost Happily Ever After, The First Year

Ch. 3 Greeting the grieving

"I NEED MY BROTHER BACK, YOU BASTARD!" Ron yelled. "Bloody Hell, you tried to kill us in the Room of Requirement, and Harry risked his life to save your sorry arse, and you don't even have a thank you, you ungrateful worm. I hope they send you to Azkaban!"

_Harry I'M SO SCARED! There's not going to be any Happily Ever After._

* * *

Harry woke up at about 6:00 AM on Sunday morning, the day after the battle. He realized that he was still a little tired after the last few days, but once Harry was awake he could seldom go back to sleep. Ginny was still asleep in the bed next to him, her hair spreading out from her face in a most attractive manner, a smile on her face. Arthur was asleep in the bed next to them, Ron's old bed. Ron and Hermione were in the beds on the other side of Arthur, and in another bed Percy was sleeping.

Harry thought for a moment. Did he have a nightmare last night? Did Ginny climb into bed with him? He sort of remembered the nightmare and Ginny crawling into bed and waking him up, but did not remember her leaving. He put those thoughts aside.

Harry thought of all the people he was going to meet today, people who had lost a loved one because he, Harry Potter, had wasted the better part of a year finishing the tasks Dumbledore had given him. He had met enough people who were hurt yesterday and still thanked him, some who were seriously hurt, some who had lost someone, and still they thanked him. It did not feel right.

Harry was still thinking about it as he arose to go to the bathroom, shaved, and got himself dressed, taking care to drink more of the potion that Fleur had gotten for him for his injuries. He still hurt, but nowhere nearly as badly as he had the night before. Professor McGonagall had provided clean dress robes for them all, and Harry put his on before going back to the beds.

Sitting down on Ginny's bed, Harry watched her sleep, marvelling that she was there. Ginny was the one thing in his life that seemed to be going just right. Leaning forward he gently kissed her. Ginny's eyes fluttered opened and closed, and she lay there for a moment with the biggest most self-satisfied smile on her face. Ginny pulled Harry tight to her, hissed him passionately and said, "Hi, love. I get to spend all day with you!"

Harry found himself grinning as broadly as she was. "I'd like to spend a little time with you before we have to be in public again," he said as he stroked her hair, looking tentatively at the scar above her breast, revealed too plainly by her skimpy nightwear. "Ginny, remember when Bill was hurt, and Fleur said that it just proved that her Bill was a brave man, a hero?"

Ginny nodded, wondering where he could be going with this.

"Well, she's right," he went on. "That's what scars like that do, and I am so proud of you! That scar is going to be a beauty mark to me, and remind me of how incredibility brave you are."

Ginny looked down at the scar. She was not sure how she felt about it. She certainly did not think of it as a beauty mark. She'd been so worried that Harry would think it ugly that to hear him call it a beauty mark certainly helped, at least a little. She supposed it was just a part of her now, something she would have to learn to accept. Then again, if her Harry could be proud of it and of her, then she could be proud of it too. She smiled tentatively, looking up into his eyes, seeking proof in their depths that what he said was true. There was no deceit there, and her smile became more certain.

Reacting to her smile, Harry leaned in to kiss her again. Ginny leaned into him eagerly for a swift kiss before pushing him gently away. Harry's brow had quirked upward.

"Sorry. The loo," Ginny murmured as she got out of bed.

"Ah," Harry responded, remembering yesterday afternoon when he had to go to the loo after Ginny's 'never leave me' remark.

"I'll be right back," she promised.

"I'll wait," he assured her.

Again Ginny flashed him a brilliant grin before disappearing behind the door to the loo. Thinking of Harry, she showered, washed her hair and got dressed as quickly as she could, taking just a moment to use the _Touch-of-Lust_ spell again.

'There's nothing wrong with that,' she thought to herself as she finished, although she had used it yesterday and probably didn't really need to use it again. 'After all, Harry walked hand in hand with me yesterday … I probably was a _little_ sharp with Cho, but no one else wants Harry like I do. I really _shouldn't_ use it two days in a row though … at least not until we're married, although I only used one flick today.' And she promised herself to skip the spell tomorrow. Feeling a little righteous for the restraint she'd sort of shown and promised herself for the future, Ginny hurried back to Harry's side a mere quarter of an hour later.

Harry and Ginny walked down to the common room together, hand in hand, and Ginny found she was still worried. Harry did not seem bothered by the scars, but they still bothered her. Also, there was that talking-to her father had given Harry the evening before. Ginny frowned at the thought. Was her father trying to keep them apart? She didn't really know what he'd said to Harry, but rather than giving herself one more thing to worry about, she decided to ask.

"Harry, what did my father say to you last night?" she began as they walked down the stairs. "Did he get angry with you? Are you in trouble because of me?"

"Not yet," Harry said. "Your father told me that hot-blooded redheads can't really be trusted to tell a bloke when to stop, so I had better be careful. He wanted me to tell you to take your time, and he wanted me to take my time. He did not seem upset that we were together, in fact, he seemed pleased."

Ginny turned to Harry, her face inches away from his, and answered, with that blazing look Harry had always loved. "It's going to be hard to wait, Harry. I think I've spent half my life dreaming about you, waiting for you, and now you're here. Having you being here with me is just like a fairy tale. You've killed Volde …" seeing Harry mouth Riddle "Tom RIDDLE. You've done what you had to do and you've saved me too. You're ready for me and I'm ready for you. Dad's just going to have to get used to it," she said firmly. "Besides, I'm just so tired of waiting, always waiting, always being the youngest, being the girl who could not do what the boys could, being protected by my mother and father and brothers."

Harry paused, a little alarmed by Ginny's eagerness. "Ginny, slow down," he urged.

"Why?" she demanded. In all of the fairy tales, the hero and heroine got married right after the battle, and she was ready to go to bed, well to do quite a bit more than just go to bed, with Harry any time.

"Ginny, I love you," Harry said, and then he began to explain. He gazed into her eyes, earnestly willing her to understand what he was saying before they began walking again. "You're 16. You have a year of school left. I promised your father that I would take it slow and I will. I think we both need some time to get to know each other again, before we dive into something that we're not ready for."

But Ginny was having none of it. "Slow down! You'll be old enough eventually! Take your time! I want to be old enough now!" wailed Ginny, a little louder and faster than before. 'Poor Little Ginny Weasley! I'll show them!' she thought. 'Everybody wants me to wait, wait, wait and wait. Wait until some other witch comes and steals Harry away. I won't!'

Harry's response was to stop and hold her to him, embracing her as he wished he had the day before, but the moment was lost. Before they had a chance to kiss or hold onto each other for more than a few seconds, about a dozen owls came for Harry, landing on their shoulders or on the furniture or on the stair rails, as they stood in the doorway to the common room.

As quickly as he could, Harry began to open the messages they carried. Two were from the Ministry asking if certain people were Death Eaters or other problem people. Another two were from companies, asking if Harry would use and endorse their products. Four were from grieving families and four were from witches that wanted to meet Harry. A couple of them even had the nerve to mention, "Poor little Ginny Weasley" and tried to show how much better they were.

Harry sat down to answer the first two straight away, also sending brief notes to the two companies that he was too busy to talk to them right now. After showing the notes to Ginny, they decided, together, that they would work on the other letters sometime during the day, and, if possible, compose a response to the thank you letters and to the other letters. People were beginning to stir and if felt like they should be getting downstairs.

Ginny began reading letters from the four witches, with concern, becoming both angrier and more worried with each one. This was exactly why that article in the Prophet terrified her. Harry Potter was her dream and her boyfriend, and she was not going to lose him. Not now, not after all of this pain and suffering. She did not care what she had to do. She wanted to seal the deal, get him to propose or arrange a wedding or something so she had her Happily Ever After ending, and the sooner the better.

Maybe it was good she'd used the '_Touch-of-Lust'_ spell this morning after all, Ginny thought. 'Maybe I ought to use the _Touch-of-Lust_ once for each of those blasted witches who have written to Harry.'

Tucking the remaining letters away to deal with later, Harry led Ginny down to the Great Hall. Although there was still a lot of debris around, and they could still smell dust in the air, Hogwarts did not have quite the stench of death that it had yesterday.

Fawkes was in the Great Hall, and flew from his perch on the back of the headmaster's chair over to Harry. "Are you mine now? Is your loyalty to me?" asked Harry. Fawkes looked at Harry with piercing eyes, not giving any indication of an answer, but he kept his eyes on Harry. Fawkes promptly flew away to perch regally, within sight of Harry, on the closest pillar. Fawkes might have transferred his loyalty from Dumbledore to Harry, but Harry thought he was hardly a cuddly pet, not really a pet at all but an independent creature consenting to serve him.

Across the room they spotted Molly, working on a parchment, and began making their way in her direction.

"Good morning, Ginny, Harry," she said, looking up as they joined her, nodding toward the sheaves of parchment in her hands. "I am going over a list of the dead and injured. I'm also going over a list of who is coming today. The Ministry has the same list, and when one of us updates the list, the changes show up on the other one as well. They are beginning to release names and are making arrangements for everybody that needs to come to Hogwarts to use the Floo from the Ministry. They began contacting people yesterday, and I expect a lot of them will be coming today. The last I heard, the Ministry is scheduling family groups and individuals to arrive every 20 minutes or so, starting at 8:00 AM. You had better get something to eat and get ready."

Molly went over the list with Harry and Ginny. It was re-arranging itself so the first arrivals were at the top, with check boxes to help track of when the people on the list arrived and when they left. It wouldn't do to have people wandering around the castle, in its current state, for indeterminate amounts of time.

Then Molly took them to the two rooms where the bodies were laid out. Harry and Ginny squeezed each other's hand as they looked at each body, and Harry thought that he died a little as they looked at each new person who, Harry thought, died because of him.

It took them a while to look at each body, and see where on the list that person was. They would need to know that to direct the family members to them later.

When they got to Fred, Molly said, "Fred We…" She paused a moment, looked at Harry and Ginny with tears of horror in her eyes, then composed herself and quickly said, "Fred Weasley." Stepping from one body to the next body, she said, "Bill Bayleaf," and again to the next body "Grace Appledorn. Bill and Grace were found together." Molly continued to move down the list, but having to list Fred as one of the dead was obviously hard on all of them.

There was a third room with the bodies of Death Eaters and other beings that had fought on the other side, about twenty five of them. Molly said there had been many more, but some of the creatures had been piled into a bonfire last night and burned, and some Death Eaters had escaped with bodies of relatives. Only people that they thought might have relatives to claim them were in that room, and the relatives of the attackers were not going to be allowed to come until the relatives of the defenders of Hogwarts had a chance to pick up their dead.

As they finished viewing the bodies, Molly said, "If anyone asks if they can help, have them show people to the proper rooms and have them offer to stay with the people picking up bodies. You will need to recruit some help, because there are only the two of you and everyone else is needed in other parts of the castle. I will stay with you for the first hour, and then I am going to need to get to bed."

She'd gone off to speak to George and Charlie, when Ron and Hermione joined them at the side of The Great Hall.

"What are all of those?" Hermione asked, looking at the parchments both Ginny and Harry had bulging from their robes.

"Letters," Ginny told her, and she showed Hermione the stack of letters she was holding for Harry. "It's going to take us a while to answer these."

Ron and Harry were talking to each other, and Ginny whispered to Hermione, "Almost half of them are love letters. What am I going to do with them? Others are thank you letters and other things. It's a mess."

Hermione looked in her bag and brought out a file folder with places for the various types of letters, putting her special undetectable enlargement charm on it. They had just finished trying to organize them, to deal with as they had time, when another two owls came for Harry; another thank you and another from a witch wanting Harry. This one had a photograph in it.

Harry was briefly reading through each of the letters, except the ones from witches offering themselves to him. Harry looked up at his friends in dismay. "How am I going to answer these letters from all of these witches trying to throw themselves at me? You're my girlfriend, Ginny. I don't want to even look at these," Harry said as he thrust them into her hands, feeling slightly guilty about foisting the job on her.

"I'll take care of them," Ginny accepted, trying to say it sweetly, but not succeeding, as she accepted the letters. What she wanted to say to these witches is not publishable. Those letters were her worst nightmare, right there in her hands.

"I'll answer the letters that only I can, and together we can answer the thank you letters," Harry suggested. "I'm glad you're taking care of the others."

'Me too,' Ginny thought though she refrained from saying it. Maybe Harry wouldn't want her to if he thought she might be rude, and she did want to … at least she certainly didn't want Harry reading and trying to answer any of them.

'Maybe I shouldn't be SO insecure,' Ginny thought. 'Harry did say I was his girlfriend. But girlfriends and boyfriends come and go. I want, no, I NEED, something more permanent.'

A little before 8:00 AM, Minerva McGonagall stood on the platform at the front of the Great Hall and called for everyone's attention.

"I have some announcements to share with you all before we begin our day. If you need to know where any dead or wounded are located, please see Harry Potter, Molly or Ginny Weasley. They have a list. If you need a place to sleep, see Molly or Hermione Granger for Gryffindor or Luna Lovegood or Cho Chang for Ravenclaw. Of course, for the time being, I will ask any Hufflepuffs to continue staying in Ravenclaw, since Gryffindor is already quite full. We are also in the process of trying to convert the Charms and Transfiguration classrooms into temporary housing for everyone else, and Molly and Hermione, Luna and Cho know about that as well. We hope to have at least some of the Hufflepuff rooms habitable within the week. Whoever got mad and destroyed the Slytherin dormitory did an excellent job; getting the water out and cleaning it up will take weeks and it is not a high priority right now.

If you want to help clean and fix the castle see me. I am in charge unless I am sleeping; in that case, Molly Weasley will be managing an overnight shift."

With the coordinators of the recovery efforts duly identified, McGonagall stepped down and everyone present went back to work again, with whatever task they had been assigned.

Arthur, Percy and Bill were among the handful of people who took the Floo to the Ministry just before 8:00 AM, making it apparent to anyone who watched that Arthur was responsible for opening the Floo so it could be used. He used a security spell to release the lock that had been put in place to protect the castle from further invasion during the night, and was the first to step through it, ensuring it was ready for use once again.

Promptly at 8:00 AM, a witch, who was employed by the Ministry, appeared to claim her husband, a wizard who had also been a Ministry employee, and Harry stood ready to greet her.

"I am Harry Potter and this it Ginny …." he began, but before he could finish, the witch interrupted him, saying, "thank you for finally finishing off He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. At the Ministry, we are so grateful to you, for finally bringing our nightmare to an end!"

"Call him Tom Riddle," Harry said firmly. "Don't be afraid to use his name. I am so sorry we could not get rid of Riddle sooner, and sorry for your loss."

The witch nodded at his words, clearly struggling to control her emotions, with some success.

Taking in the situation, Molly came up, saying, "I will show you to your husband's body." And she led the witch away.

Harry turned to Ginny and said, "Well, we got through the first one." Ginny looked at her mother leading the other woman away and squeezed Harry's hand again. Over the next few days, it would become their quiet and unassuming signal to each other that things were rough, but at least they were in it together.

The next person through was a witch working at the Ministry, and again her husband was also a Ministry employee. She came through crying loudly, obviously in the late stages of pregnancy. Harry started to say, "I'm Harry …" but she started to sob even harder, if that were possible, and Ginny rushed up to hold her, putting an arm around the witch's shoulders and taking her hand.

She finally said, "Thank you, Harry, can I see Robert now?" and Ginny led her to the room where her husband was.

Ginny had to spend some time holding the pregnant witch and consoling her, something she had never done before. Ginny got back just before the next people were due, shaking her head and crying, and said, "Their first child and she will never know her father. So sad!" She hugged Harry like her life depended on them merging, muttering, "I should be stronger than this." She looked up at Harry as she wiped her tears away and said, "Harry, this is going to be hard!"

Harry felt empty inside, and very much responsible for the tragedy playing out around them. "It's all my fault!" he told her quietly, if urgently. "If I could just have gotten rid of Riddle sooner… I must have done something wrong last year. Too much of the time we just waited, trying to think what to do next."

Harry's self-recrimination was just what Ginny needed to get out of her funk. "Harry Potter," she said, looking at him. "You're the one who got rid of Riddle. You're responsible for ending all of this horrible death and torture and … all of this … you won! It will get better!"

"I guess I feel a little better," said Harry. "It's hard to be too sad with you next to me."

"Good!" said Ginny, and she really meant it.

Harry looked down at the schedule. "We have a big group coming next; the Appledorn and Bayleaf families. There is a note on here that they were staying together, and may need housing. Is Professor McGonagall here?"

Harry saw the headmistress coming into the room, and waved her over.

When the two families had assembled before him, Harry said, "I'm Harry Potter and this is Ginny. We're so sorry for your losses."

The man of the group said, "I am Michael Appledorn. I am a forensic accountant and had a mostly Muggle practice, so my wife was the one to come here. The Bayleafs were staying with us because Bill was a Muggle-born Ministry official that really got on the bad side of the Death Eaters. They destroyed his house. He decided that he did not have a life anyway, if He-Who-May-Not-Be-Named was not defeated. Our house came under attack just at the end, as we were leaving, so both families may need a place to stay for a few days." By this time, all of the members of their group were there; Michael, in his mid-thirties, sons Tom, 10, Dick, 8 and Harry, 6, and Rosemary, who was about the same age as Michael, with daughters Cinnamon 10, Coriander 8 and Cardamom, 5. Michael looked like he was in command of the situation, but the other seven people looked a little stunned.

Addressing Michael, Harry said, "Call him Tom Riddle, Michael, Rosemary. He is dead! Gone!"

Michael answered, "Thank you for killing him, Harry. The whole Wizarding community owes you a great debt of gratitude."

Harry answered back, "Lots of people worked, suffered, and way too many died to get to this day. I certainly had lots of help. Ginny can show you to your spouses. Professor McGonagall can help you with temporary housing."

The first witch came back with her husband's body and left through the Floo. Then a Ministry wizard came through to get his wife. He also thanked Harry. Molly and Minerva McGonagall both briefly stopped to tell Harry that he was going to have to say "you're welcome" and acknowledge the thanks. He wasn't to talk about how he hadn't gotten the job done faster, or even how many people had helped in the task. They didn't, however, tell him to stop encouraging people to call Voldemort Riddle, acknowledging that no one could do a better job of dispelling people's remaining fear.

At about 9:15, a name suddenly appeared just before the already scheduled 9:20 group- Violet Brown. "I wonder if that's Lavender's mother," asked Ginny.

When the witch appeared, there was little doubt that she was Lavender Brown's mother. She looked at Harry and said, "You must be Harry Potter." Harry nodded. She then said, "Thank you for bringing this horrible war to an end, for getting rid of You-Know-Who."

"How is Lavender?" asked Harry, letting the moniker for Riddle go this time, due to his own concern for Lavender.

Violet started to tear up and said, "Not good. Not good at all. They cannot even move her to St. Mungo's. It broke my heart when I had to leave last night, but there were things her father and I had to do. Her father is on the continent looking for more medical help. I need to go up and see her. She screams a little less when I hold her hand." Violet left for the Infirmary and from the way she walked, you could almost see the heaviness in her heart.

At 10:00 AM, along with their scheduled arrival, the Daily Prophet appeared.

**Daily Prophet**

_Sunday May 3, 1998_

_Partial list of the dead inside._

_Kingsley Shacklebolt confirmed as Minister of Magic._

_Additional ministerial appointments to be announced within the next 2 days._

_Minerva McGonagall confirmed as Headmistress of Hogwarts._

That was all they had time for, before the next arrival appeared in the Floo. Harry had barely directed their 10:20 arrival to the proper room, when, ten minutes later, the Floo glowed green with an unannounced arrival. Rita Skeeter stepped out wearing a smug expression and looking exceedingly pleased with herself.

Ginny looked at Harry with one of the furious, angry looks that caused all of the males in the family to quake, saying in a quiet but very angry voice, "Did you see the lies she wrote about you, about us, in the paper yesterday?!"

Harry didn't hesitate for a moment. He pointed his wand at Rita and told Ginny, "Take her wand away right now!" Rita took one look at Harry's angry expression and surrendered her wand. "Who is your editor?" asked Harry.

"Tom Timmerman," said Rita.

Harry silently expelled a Patronus and told it, "Get Tom Timmerman right away! Let him know Harry Potter is mad!" Harry sat there fuming for a full five minutes before a harried-looking middle-aged man came through the Floo.

To the editor, Harry said, very quietly but in a tone of voice that said he was deadly serious, "Never, never send this insect, this sorry excuse for a reporter, to cover me or any person at this school! Get her out of here and keep her away!"

It was not like Harry to lose his temper like this, and everyone was amazed. Only Harry knew that what he said was mild compared to what would happen if Ginny really got wound up.

Tom answered, "We do need the situation here reported, and we do need you to talk to reporters, Harry."

Harry replied, "I know, and I will do my best to help. My problem is with this one reporter who I want out of here!"

Tom Timmerman told Rita, "Go back to the office and wait for another assignment." After she left, he turned to Harry and said, "I was going to send two reporters, and Rita volunteered. After Rita left, one of the people in the office said to me, 'You sent Rita? Harry and his friends have run into her before. She would not have been my first choice.' Obviously I made a mistake. I will send two different reporters, and keep her as far away from you as possible.

Harry, thank you for all you have done. Thank you for defeating Voldemort. Thank you for allowing us to print the truth again."

Harry responded, "Call him Tom Riddle. That's who he was. Tom Marvolo Riddle or Tom Riddle who called himself Lord Voldemort. I will work with your reporters."

"Can I have Rita's wand?" asked Tom. After Ginny reluctantly gave it to him, he took the Floo to return to his office. Within minutes there were two new reporters coming through the Floo, a middle-aged man and a young girl. The middle-aged man walked purposefully into the castle, merely bobbing his head at Harry in greeting as he passed. The young girl timidly introduced herself as Cindy Base. She then went a little ways into the room and looked around.

Michael Appledorn came back and told Harry and Ginny that the children were going to be staying in the Great Hall for now, as their rooms were not ready yet. Since they had nowhere else they could go to, he and Rosemary were willing to help.

Rosemary commandeered two of the tables and set up an area where the children could play. She had some books and toys, and the six children tried to entertain themselves.

Harry continued to greet all of the people who came through the Floo. He was so used to dealing with difficult situations that this was just another very difficult thing to get through. Harry was embarrassed if he started to sob or tear up, but each dead person, each story, was a tragedy.

Harry found that a lot of the people wanted to talk to him, either before or right after they saw their loved ones, and he spent a lot of time at the Floo talking to families and friends of those who had died. Most of them were very grateful that he would take the time to talk to them. Harry had a hard time not feeling guilty as person after person thanked him.

Ginny had a much harder time handling what was going on, and in between people coming through the Floo, if she was not busy with people coming to pick up bodies, she was holding onto Harry. Occasionally, she would mumble, "I should not be this soft. I should be stronger than this," and Harry would remind her that it wasn't something to be ashamed of, with so much tragedy around them. Meanwhile, any time Harry voiced blaming himself for all the tragedy, Ginny kept reminding him that he had won, they had won, and that the deaths were not his fault.

Mid-afternoon, Harry noticed Ginny and Rosemary walking into the hall with two of the saddest and most confused looking little girls Harry thought he had seen since the heart of the battle. Rosemary led them over to the tables where the other children were, and sat, talking to them. By this time, there were about a dozen children at the tables, from several displaced families. Ginny came back to Harry, looked at him with horror in her eyes and said, "Oh, Harry." She just lost her composure totally and held on to him, shook herself, took a couple of deep breaths while looking at the little girls, and said, "I did not think it could get any worse. They are in Gryffindor, Mary Lou Dippet, 4th year, and Ann Marie Dippet, 1st year. Their brother Dan was in sixth year with Colin and me. They were best friends."

"Were?" said Harry, his stomach sinking with dread.

"Oh, Harry, it's even worse than that," said Ginny, her eyes showing a certain amount of horror. "Their mother was a Muggle and she was killed two years ago, and the family lost everything. What little they owned, their father carried in a backpack, including a tent they stayed in while on the run. Not only was Dan killed in the battle, but their father was as well. Their bodies are right next to Colin, and the girls have been sitting there crying, not knowing what to do until right now. Rosemary and I tried to talk to them, but it has taken this long for them to even be willing to talk to anyone."

"We have to do something," said Harry, feeling angry all over again. "Somebody has to do something. They cannot be left to sit there by their brother and father's bodies for days or weeks."

"Somebody has to do something," Ginny agreed. She wasn't sure what she could do, but at the very least, she would speak with her father later.

At about 4:30 a witch came through the Floo and asked for Luna. Harry brought out his map and found her in the Ravenclaw dorm, and directed the witch to her. About an hour later, a distraught Luna came back with the witch holding one of her hands, Cho the other.

"Luna's father is at St. Mungo's," Cho explained. "He has been asking for Luna, when they can get any coherent words out of him." Cho turned to Luna and said, "We will visit you as soon as we can. You need to be with your father."

Luna and the witch left through the Floo, and that was the last they saw of her for several weeks.

At about 5:00, an unpleasant looking witch came through the Floo, dragging her husband behind her. She saw Harry and started to yell, "Why did you start all this war, Potter?! Here you are untouched, and my only son, only child is dead. You sit there all smug, greeting everybody and we all suffer. You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"

Harry sat there dumbfounded, but Ginny wound up. "HOW DARE YOU TALK TO HARRY POTTER LIKE THAT! HE LOST BOTH HIS PARENTS, HIS GODFATHER AND HIS BEST FRIENDS WERE KILLED IN FRONT OF HIM. HE HAS SUFFERED MORE LOSSES THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE. HE HAD TO LET VOLDEMORT KILL HIM TO BRING THIS WAR TO AND END. He actually had to walk to his death, with no expectation of living. AND YOU DARE TO TELL HIM HE HAS NOT SUFFERED!"

The witch looked at Ginny, standing there with her hands on her hips, started to say something, decided better of it and walked away. Rosemary and Michael were both waiting to take families to see their dead. Rosemary was taking most of the women, but she indicated that Michael was going to take this one, and he agreed.

Late in the day, at about 7:00 PM, Bill Weasley appeared and once again made a beeline to Harry, not bothering to even acknowledge anyone else. He asked Harry, "Do you still have the wand you used to defeat Voldemort and the wand he was using?"

Harry felt down to where he had Draco's wand. "I have the wand I used, the one that belonged to Draco Malfoy. I know where the other wand is."

Bill said, "Please get it, Harry. It could be very important."

Harry did not know what to do. He did not want to go back and open Dumbledore's tomb. At the same time, Bill said it was important. He wondered if Fawkes could get the wand; phoenixes are magical birds, after all.

Harry called Fawkes, and stroking him, spoke to him in a quiet voice, saying, "I need you to do something for me, Fawkes. Can you?" The bird dipped his head in answer. "Get me Dumbledore's wand," Harry told him. Fawkes squawked once, and then the phoenix flew out of the room through the gaps in the walls near the magical ceiling. He reappeared quicker than Harry could have imagined, carrying the wand between his talons.

Harry held the wand out for Bill's inspection, but the older wizard pushed it away.

"Keep it with you, Harry … it and the other one together," Bill admonished, looking around to see who was watching, which was pretty much everyone in the Great Hall. Very quietly, he said, "Since neither is your primary wand, do not use them. They may be very important!"

Harry and Ginny were standing side by side, with their arms around each other, holding hands as he said this. Bill looked at them appraisingly and asked, "How serious are you two?"

Ginny piped right up, "More serious than Mum or Dad want me to be! They keep telling me to slow down! I love Harry, big brother, like you love Fleur."

Bill turned to Harry and asked, "Is this what you feel too?"

Looking directly into Bill's eyes, Harry answered back, "I do not want to rush anything, but there is no doubt in my mind that I want to spend the rest of my life with Ginny. What is going on? I expect there is a reason for these questions."

Bill said, "Harry, Ginny, give me a couple more days to work on this. All I can say is that it may be very important that Harry beat Riddle in a single duel. Is Fleur still here?"

"As far as we know," said Harry, while looking at Ginny, who nodded yes.

"Good," Bill answered. "I need to take her home. She needs to rest." And he disappeared, going to find her. It wasn't long before he was back with Fleur at his side.

"I weel be back tomorrow," Fleur promised as she stepped into the Floo with her husband.

It was finally 8:00 PM and the Floo was magically closed. They were emotionally drained, feeling that, at last, it was the end of the day, and yet the owls had continued to come, reminding them of the letters waiting to be answered. By now there were over thirty of them. Harry had already answered the few important ones, and Ginny had written to tell a few more companies that Harry was too busy. The thank you letters were piling up, as were the letters from witches who wanted Harry, sorting themselves out into the magical file Hermione had given them. Ginny felt panicky again, when she saw how many letters there were from witches wanting to meet Harry. She grabbed them from their place in the file as the two sat down at one of the long tables nearest the fireplace they had been manning and turned their attention to answering a few more of the letters.

Before long, Molly, Ron and Hermione joined them.

"We had three families come for their dead," Hermione told them as they sat down. "That was hard. The rest of the day was not so bad, although a lot of people seem to have lost their homes or be too scared to go home and housing is a real problem. Half of the time I was trying to find housing and other people were helping Ron. How was your day?"

Ginny looked up from the letter under her hand she was answering. "Well, we had about twenty grieving families, one bitch of a witch, and Rita Skeeter. I yelled at the bitch and Harry was so mad at Rita that he called the editor of the Prophet. Lots of tears. It was really, really tough." She looked down at her hands. "I cannot believe how hard it was. I don't think it can get much worse. I should be tougher than this." As she was saying this, she was just successful in holding back tears. Harry did not say anything, but he turned in his seat and gave Ginny a big squeeze. Ginny hugged Harry back like her life depended on being close to him, just hugged him with her face buried in his chest for the next ten minutes.

Arthur was the last to come through the Floo, saying, "The Floo is closed for the evening. How is everybody?"

"Tough day, Dad," said Ginny. She got up from where she was sitting, went over and hugged him, and this time she was not quite successful in stopping the tears. "Daddy, all of those people. It was so hard. Harry did a great job, and thank you, I am so glad I am with him but all of the people." She pulled herself together and went back to holding Harry's hand.

"I didn't think it was going to be easy, meeting all of the people who lost someone in the battle," said Arthur, as he joined the rest of them at the table. "We are getting a lot of compliments on how well you and Harry are doing. Harry, people came back just so grateful that you were there to meet them. The people who were at the Ministry-end of the Floo told me over and over again that the grieving families said, 'I can't believe that Harry Potter himself was there to greet us.' I know it is hard duty, but it is making a big difference to a lot of people."

"I ought to be meeting all of these people," Harry answered. "It's my fault that we could not get rid of Riddle sooner. If we had done it sooner, all of these people would not have died."

"No one blames you, Harry," Arthur assured him. "If you had not done what you did, Voldemort …Riddle, sorry Harry, and his supporters would still be killing people."

"Let's eat," said Ron eagerly, totally breaking the mood of the people at the table. Hermione rolled her eyes. When they all looked at him, he added, "What? It's been over twelve hours since breakfast. I don't know about you lot, but I only got a couple of sandwiches at noon. One thing I expected to be better after the war was getting to eat again."

Harry and Hermione laughed. They were quickly joined by the rest of the family, who all knew about Ron's enormous appetite. Everyone wanted to know how Ron had handled the lack of food while they were on the run, as an abundance of food appeared on the tables. Harry and Hermione regaled them with stories about Ron's surly moods. Then they all laughed when Ron's eyes started to tear as he proceeded to stuff a roll into his mouth whole and follow it with about three forks-full of succulent roasted beef.

Ron wasn't the only one who missed food. Everyone was hungrier than they could remember being the night before, for maybe even longer than that, when fear and lack of provisions had forced everyone into a forced diet. And so they shared the meal almost as eagerly as Ron, talking amongst themselves.

Everybody in the family was a little concerned about George, but he seemed to have picked up his own little cheering section. In addition to his brother Charlie, who was almost always with him, Lee Jordan, the twins best friend and sometimes business partner was almost always with George. Most noticeable, however, was Angelina Johnson, who was holding George's hand from time to time, and was always sitting next to him at meals.

Just as they were finishing dinner, the Malfoy family approached Harry.

"I need my wand," Draco said with an uncertain sneer. There appeared to be very mixed emotions on the faces of the entire family.

"I NEED MY BROTHER BACK, YOU BASTARD!" Ron yelled. "Bloody Hell, you tried to kill us in the Room of Requirement, and Harry risked his life to save your sorry arse, and you don't even have a thank you, you ungrateful worm. I hope they send you to Azkaban!"

As Ron and Draco glared at each other, Narcissa approached Harry and quietly said, "Thank you for saving Draco's life."

"Thank you for lying for me in the forest," Harry replied to Narcissa, tit for tat, as it were.

"Is that why V … Riddle thought you were dead?" asked Ginny, realization setting in.

Harry nodded. "I think we all owe our lives to Narcissa."

No one noticed Cindy Base sitting in the corner taking notes.

There was an awkward period of silence. Draco looked back and forth between his mother and father, obviously trying to get some sign of what to say or do. He went up to Harry and very quietly said, "Thank you for rescuing me. I really do owe my arse to you."

"You are welcome," Harry said to Draco. Then, turning to address the family, he said, "I'm sorry, but you still can't have your wands back. I just don't feel I can give them back until Kingsley or someone from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement says I can."

"I understand," Draco replied, resigned to his fate. "Dad's side lost."

Finally, Narcissa said, "No one in the family has a wand, and we do not feel we can go home wandless."

"I don't think I have the authority to give your family wands," Harry said, not daring to relinquish Draco's wand, especially after what Bill had said. He wondered what had happened to Narcissa's wand, since Draco had been using it during the battle. Had a Ministry official confiscated it after Riddle's defeat? Finally, he decided to put the decision in someone else's hands. "You probably ought to talk to Arthur Weasley."

"Thank you, Harry," Narcissa said politely, and she went over to talk to Arthur. Lucius and Draco followed at a distance. Only Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione heard the conversation with the Malfoy family, plus Cindy Base the reporter.

It wasn't long after the conversation with the Malfoys before Ginny pulled Harry aside and together they went up to the dorm room.

"I do not care what anybody says, I need you to hold me," she told him when they got there.

"I can do that," Harry said, and he took off his shoes and robes, leaving his jeans and undershirt on and got into his bed. Ginny took off her robes as well. Underneath, she wore only shorts and a skimpy top.

Harry sat in bed with his back to the headboard, watching her, expecting an embrace. He wasn't disappointed, but it wasn't long before Ginny pulled slightly away and began tugging on Harry's shirt. Harry's eyes widened slightly, remembering their conversation that morning, but he didn't object when Ginny pulled off his shirt over his head. Instead of embracing him again, however, she removed the wrappings that Fleur had put on his chest, and sat back, looking at all of his various wounds, before reaching for the bottle of lotion and beginning to apply it to the largest of his fresh scars. They seemed to be healing and Ginny openly admired Harry's chest; there was the starting of some chest hair and it was reasonably muscular, although he was still very thin from so many months on the run. Harry was a little person, small boned, but she thought he was very good looking. His features were so fine, he was, she thought, almost pretty. He had such kind eyes, such beautiful green eyes, and the love that he had for people shone in them. He was going to be easy to love.

Setting the lotion aside, she re-wrapped Harry's chest to keep the big wound from coming open. Then she put her head on his chest and thought, 'I'm living my dream. Maybe we will live Happily Ever After.' Then she thought of Fred and all of the other people who had died, and her "Happily Ever After" never had so much pain and death in it. She began to gently cry.

Harry held Ginny in his arms as she cried. He didn't even have to ask why she was crying. There had been so much to cry about on that day … so much he didn't want to think about any more. Instead he focused his attention on the girl he loved.

He could see both of the scars Ginny had gained at some point during the war, but, despite the scars, he thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Maybe it was the spell that Ginny had used on her hair, although Ginny really was pretty all on her own. Harry was more aware than ever of her shape as he held her. He could see enough bust to really turn him on, plus a very narrow waist, ample, shapely hips. He never thought his love for Ginny was mostly a physical thing, but lying on his chest as she was, she was so sexy, so perfectly proportioned, so appealing. Then she started to cry slightly louder than before.

"What's wrong, Gin?" he asked, wondering which of the horrible things they'd been dealing with that day was getting to her in that way.

Ginny looked up at him and said, "When I was little, I had Muggle fairy tales as well as Wizard ones. I had the tale of Harry Potter, but I also had Snow White and Sleeping Beauty and other tales, used books that my dad found and fixed up for me. I combined them together and told my mother, 'When Harry Potter defeats Lord Voldemort for good, then we are going to get married and live Happily Ever After!' I had this dream that after the battle you would rush over and pick me up, and somehow the next day I would be in a beautiful white wedding dress walking down the aisle to the man of my dreams.

At the end of the duel, when Riddle's wand flew into your hand, it was like the climax of a fairy tale for me. That part, the wand flying into your hand, was better than any dream. Except that it wasn't really. Mum was a mess, people were frantically taking care of the sick and wounded. Lots of people were dead; I never imagined all that death. Hogwarts was almost destroyed."

Ginny sat up and looked at the scar on her chest. "Hogwarts wasn't the only thing damaged. I always dreamed of myself as the beautiful princess, my hero's dream, and here I am with this ugly scar. Harry, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH IT HURT?! When they put a wand on you and do the Cruciatus Curse IT HURTS and it keeps on hurting and I'm ugly and it'll never go away. Harry, I'M SO SCARED! There's not going to be any Happily Ever After." At this Ginny collapsed back on to Harry's chest and started to sob again.

"Ginny," he said, turning her face up to peer into her eyes. "I've been looking at you, at your body, and you look to me like the most beautiful woman in the world. You're so sexy, so beautiful, and so perfect in every way. I always thought you were cute, but I never realized how beautiful you were until the last couple of days. I have scars too. I still say that scar-" Harry gently touched the start of the one over her breast, tracing it gently with his finger, "-is a beauty mark, and it shows me that my lovely Ginny is also my brave and strong and courageous Ginny. I love you, scars and all, and just ask that you love me with all my scars too."

Ginny lay her head back on Harry's chest and tried to control her emotions. By the time she had calmed down she was fast asleep.

Harry thought that things could not get any more confusing. What else could happen? He was exhausted. Shortly after Ginny fell asleep, Harry fell asleep too, sitting up in bed with Ginny's head in his lap.

It was about 11:00 PM when Arthur got up to the dorm room that evening. He found Ron and Hermione in adjoining beds, just like they were the night before. Harry and Ginny were still on top of the covers on the one bed. He gently woke them up and got them into their own beds, still partially clothed.

* * *

_Every story is the product of much more than one person. We are all playing in JoAnn Rowling's universe, so first thanks go to her. I also owe a debt of gratitude to many of the authors on another site. My first beta Mrs_Granger's stories have been an inspiration to me, and although my story is very different in some ways the universe I write in owes a lot to her. I will thank her for various pieces from time to time, and her thorough answers to my reviews have been very helpful. Her beta seeker68 is well worth reading, and I use a couple of pieces from his '31 Bottles' as well. 1917Farmgirl does not write much, but what she does write is first rate. I am going to refer to her Yes, Ginevra, There is a Santa Claus, with her permission. All the authors above are on the Harry Potter Fan Fiction site._

_My beta Ladymblack is the most fantastic proof-reader and consistency checker I could hope to find, and I am very grateful for her advice and encouragement. She and I are in the process of totally revamping a huge mess of a story, and she is more of an editor than just a beta. Thanks again. _

_I also want to thank my Irish beta PokePotterfan93 for helping me with the British way of spelling and phrasing. _

_Reviews on what works and what doesn't are always most helpful._

_JetLaBarge _


	4. Ch 4, Teddy

Almost Happily Ever After, The First Year

HPFF CH 4 Teddy

_I think Andromeda has had a breakdown. I don't think she can take care of Teddy right now._

"If she's missing you had better report it to the Ministry" Harry said.

"The Ministry is full of Mudbloods and idiots" the wizard replied.

* * *

Harry woke up first again and looked around the room. It was the room he had spent so much time in at Hogwarts, but it never had so many people in it, including female people, including GINNY! It was almost unbelievable that Ginny was sleeping in the next bed, and almost as hard to believe that two short and yet frantically busy days ago he'd been fighting for his life, dueling Tom Riddle. Harry got himself cleaned and dressed. He woke Ginny, who again pulled him into a big hug and kiss.

"There should be fewer people today, so it should be easier," Harry told her as they got ready for their day.

Harry hoped it would be easier. In all of the stories he'd read, once the hero killed the villain, everything got easier, and, "they lived Happily Ever After." What else could happen?

Ginny went into the loo and got dressed. She thought of the i_Touch-of-Lust/i _spell and her promise to herself not to use it every day.

Ginny knew she should not be worried about Cho, but she was.

'Just one flick,' thought Ginny, but then she mentally scolded herself again. 'I'm stronger than that! And I'm not that worried, am I?'

Then Ginny thought about all of the letters and one in particular with a photograph of a naked girl that had a pair that was huge. It made Ginny, who was reasonably well endowed for being less than five feet tall and reasonably thin, look tiny by comparison.

Ginny was really nervous about using the spell at all, and knew the dangers of using it too much, but all of those letters made her VERY upset.

'I know I said I would not use it at all today,' Ginny thought, feeling rather self-righteous for not using the spell. 'If Harry doesn't snog me good I can always use it tomorrow' she thought.

When they got to the common room, Harry sat down and pulled Ginny into his lap. "I need a little good snogging, Happily-Ever-After- Girl," Harry said.

Ginny gave a small shy smile at the Happily Ever After reference, but eagerly worked on the snogging, feeling pleased that Harry wanted to snog her even when she hadn't used the _Touch-if-Lust_ spell. After the first day, when the spell didn't seem to work at all, at least now it seemed to be working! After about ten minutes of some serious snogging, Harry looked at Ginny and said, "I just can't see you as one of those helpless fairy-tale princesses."

"I never said I wanted to be that type of princess," said Ginny, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "I always reckoned that we'd take down Volde … Riddle and the Death Eaters together. That was what was so hard about not being with you, not being able to fight with you. Some of those princess stories are so stupid. I never wanted you to rescue me. I wanted to fight with you!"

"My tough Ginny," said Harry, with a big smile on his face. "Yesterday was really tough! All of those families who lost people killed, students, parents, everybody. I expected a lot of people angry at me, and most people just thanked me. And I was just so lucky to have my tough Ginny by my side."

"I wasn't very tough yesterday," said Ginny, frowning and remembering how many times she'd wept or otherwise held on to Harry because of the horrible situations they'd seen. "I felt terribly helpless a lot of the time. I want to be strong like my brothers."

"I'm uVERY/u glad you're not one of Ron's BROTHERS," Harry enthusiastically exclaimed.

"I'm still a girl" said Ginny, smiling at his vehemence and using her hands to show that she had feminine curves.

"A very pretty girl, very sexy," said Harry. The i_Touch-of-Lust/i _spell really was working, on both of them apparently, and Harry spent a minute obviously ogling Ginny's curves as she proudly showed off her shape. Ginny was maybe be too freckly to be a classic beauty, and she had a pretty substantial pair of hips for being as small as she was, but the result was a spectacular hip to waist ratio which was very sexy. She was no movie starlet on top but she was a long way from being flat either. Harry thought she was just a delight to look at.

"I didn't mean to undress you with my eyes," Harry said shyly, as he got a little embarrassed by how obviously he had looked at all of Ginny's shape.

"I can't wait until you undress me with more than just your eyes," Ginny whispered in reply, spreading her arms out in a 'come and get me' gesture. "It's tough waiting."

Harry though that he should just be able to enjoy being with Ginny, but nothing was ever that simple. She wanted sex, wanted to marry him right away. Ginny wanted to be grown up right now. Harry, at 17, felt almost old; too much had happened to him, he had suffered too much pain in the last year alone. But Ginny deserved another year of school. What was he going to do?

There were another six owls waiting for them around the common room. Ginny quickly sorted them, watching them fly from her hands into the magic file, trying hard not to show how terrified she was of the letters from witches wanting HER Harry, and went back to snogging Harry.

After maybe a half an hour, Ron, Hermione, Percy and Arthur came down the stairs. The family ate breakfast together, joined by the Appledorn and Bayleaf families

Arthur approached Harry after they were done eating and asked, "What do you think we should do about the Malfoys, Harry?"

"Put the whole cursed bunch in Azkaban!" Ron enthusiastically volunteered. "Hermione was tortured in their house and Draco is nothing but a git."

"Thank you for your opinion, Ron," Arthur said, "but I asked Harry."

Harry thought for a moment. "Narcissa lied for me in the forest after Riddle killed me, lied and said I was dead when I was alive. She risked her life for me. She deserves some credit for that. I'm not sure that she was always a willing participant in the evil her family committed, but I don't know a lot about her.

"What about Lucius?" asked Arthur. "Do you trust him?"

"No!" Harry exclaimed. "Not even a little. I imagine he's glad to see the end of Riddle, but only because he's been brought so low, not because he feels any remorse."

"And Draco?" asked Arthur. They could see Ron tense up.

"Draco could not kill Dumbledore when he was given the chance, and he refused to identify us when we were captured and brought to Malfoy Manor," Harry said. "How was he last year at school?" he added, turning to Ginny.

"Not good," Ginny said, "but not the worst either. I can think of a number of times that he got people out of punishments, before they were seriously injured. He was an arrogant arse, but he seemed to be reluctant to be truly evil. I don't know."

"I'm not sure about Draco either," Harry agreed. "I think that at the very least he should be on probation and have to do community service or something to make up for what he _has _done."

"I think we will keep them under house arrest here for at least a couple more days," Arthur concluded, basically putting off a decision temporarily. "Lucius had a lot of support on the Wizengamot, but I think most of that's gone by now. They are still going to be one of our more difficult cases."

A little before 8:00 AM, Arthur left for the ministry, opening the Floo once again.

The first one through the Floo from the Ministry today was Andromeda Tonks, carrying Teddy Lupin and a bulging baby bag. Teddy was wailing, and Andromeda was beside herself. "No one is telling me anything! What has happened to Nymphadora?! What has happened to Remus?! ALL ANYONE SAYS IS THEY ARE SO SORRY. WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON?!"

"Oh, Andromeda," Harry said, feeling sick to his stomach and regretting the large breakfast he'd eaten. How could no one have prepared her? "No one told you they were killed in the battle?"

"WHO WAS KILLED? ONE OF THEM IS DEAD?" yelled Andromeda, with a wild, almost feral look in her eyes.

"They are both dead," said Harry sadly.

Andromeda already had a harried look on her face, but, at this, she looked terrified and scared and numb all at the same time. "Oh, oh, oh my, Harry, Ginny, can you take care of Teddy?" she said as she shoved the baby into Harry's hands, dropping the bag with Teddy's stuff at Harry's feet. "Oh my, Oh my, I have to see them. This is horrible. What am I going to do?! How can I take care of Teddy? No! No! NO!"

Rosemary Bayleaf started to lead a wailing Andromeda out of the room.

Ginny went up to Harry and said, "Hold his head, Harry. Little babies cannot hold their own heads. Good," as Harry was cradling Teddy's head more securely in the crook of his arm.

Harry felt petrified as though his heart had been constricted, as though someone had just put the Full Body-Bind Curse on him. He'd never held a child in his life and was suddenly very grateful that, at least, Ginny seemed to know something about babies. Looking at the screaming bundle in his arms, he saw little tufts of mousy brown hair peeking out of the blanket. Harry held the baby a little tighter, guessing that he sensed that something was terribly wrong. He closed his eyes for a moment and decided then and there that he would not let this child suffer as he himself had. Harry turned to Teddy and said, in a quiet and gentle voice, "Hi, little boy. Hi, Teddy. Hi. I'm your godfather Harry Potter. I lost my parents when I was little too. It's a tough deal, but with a lot of love you can make it. I'm your godfather. I'll love you. I'll love you." Harry kissed Teddy, and gently rocked him, being careful to hold his head, as he'd been instructed to do. Harry kept up the gentle talking, and Teddy stopped crying.

Ginny looked at Harry in amazement. Nothing makes a girl feel better about her guy than seeing him being so good with children. Ginny felt all warm and squishy inside, her prince looked so natural holding the small baby in his arms.

Andromeda stopped, just on the threshold of the Great Hall and looked back at Harry. Ginny went over to her and Andromeda said in amazement, "Harry got Teddy to stop crying!" Then she wailed, "No mummy, no daddy, no money, no nothing. Take care of Teddy, please." Andromeda was once again in tears, with a panicky look on her face.

"Harry and I will take care of Teddy," said Ginny, patting the older witch for reassurance.

"Thank you, Ginny," said Andromeda, who was, by this time, visibly shaking. "I feel like such a failure as a grandmother. Who'll nurse the baby? I can't … it's all gone … they're both dead?" At this she started to cry again, even harder than before.

Ginny said, "Let me talk to Harry. We'll help. We'll think of something."

Harry was still holding Teddy, but he was saying, "I smell something, Teddy. Do you need your nappies changed?"

Ginny looked at Harry and inquired, "Wet?"

"A lot worse than wet," Harry replied, pointing to some brown stuff leaking out from the edge of the nappy.

Ginny looked over to Rosemary Bayleaf in panic, waving her over. Together they approached Harry and Teddy. "Can I just _Scourgify_ him?" a worried Ginny asked.

"Not a baby!" Rosemary replied in horror.

"Although in this case," she added, looking at the mess, "there is a variation of that spell to get us started. Take off the nappy, Harry."

Harry reluctantly and gingerly took off the filthy nappy, brown goo leaking all over. "_Scourgify Minimus!_" Rosemary said twirling her wand very slowly, as though she was gently removing the grime. Most of the mess was gone; at least it wasn't running all over any more.

"I hope there are wipes in the bag," said Rosemary. "You really are better off finishing the bottom with wipes."

Ginny looked into the bag. There were:

Mother Minerva's Magical Nappies (spells to clean and re-use)

Mother Minerva's magical breast milk container (with at most 2 days of breast milk left), _Ginny almost lost it. Tonks's breast milk.?_

Mother Minerva's Magical Burp Clothes

And an order form that included listings for:

Mother Minerva's Formula (instructions for duplicating the mother's milk if necessary)

Mother Minerva's Magical Nursing bra's (for adoptive mothers. Milk magically goes from the included storage to your breast, so you can nurse a child even if you are not the biological mother.)

Ginny got clean nappies and wipes. Harry held Teddy, while Ginny finished cleaning Teddy's bottom. Ginny looked worried and said, "I've never changed a boy's nappies."

Harry replied, "I thought you had six brothers?"

Ginny looked exasperated. "Older brothers. I certainly never changed any of their nappies. I've changed a couple of baby girl's nappies when they visited Mum, but this is my first experience with boy's nappies or messy nappies."

Harry and Ginny were feeling really proud that they had changed Teddy when, as he was lying on the clean nappy, but just before they got it on him, Teddy wet them, squirting both Harry and Ginny. Harry and Ginny both just suppressed a scream, while Rosemary just giggled.

"I had three girls. They don't squirt you like that," Rosemary apologized. But she ruined it because she was unable to erase the huge grin from her face.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, sighed deeply and then cleaned up the mess again, Harry careful to keep the second nappy over the pertinent part of Teddy, so he couldn't squirt them again.

Ginny finished putting the second clean nappy on and took the dirty wipes and nappies to the bathroom, where she used the proper spells and got them cleaned. She then dug into Teddy's bag, got a bottle, and got it ready.

Harry gave Teddy to Ginny, and she started to feed a very hungry little boy. Teddy did not like the bottle much but kept grabbing for her breasts. Eventually, Ginny got some milk into him. When he was done eating, she found a baby carrier that held Teddy close to her and put it on, putting him in it. Ginny held Teddy tightly and, after a little holding and rocking, he finally fell asleep. His hair had been mousy brown when Andromeda brought him, but now it was black and looked just like Harry's, except that where Harry's hair usually stuck up in the back, Teddy had a shock of Weasley red hair sticking up.

"Harry," Ginny said, "Andromeda would like us to take care of Teddy for a little while. Would that be alright with you?"

Harry answered, "That would be great!" He thought of the ten years he spent with the Dursleys', and how horrible that was. There was no way he was going to let his godson suffer. He and Ginny would take care of Teddy. The decision made together and for the best reasons, gave them both a feeling of empowerment and contentment.

Just as Ginny was walking back to the fireplace, Teddy in the carrier she was wearing, another witch was coming through the Floo. She went right over to Harry and said, "Thank you for all you have done for us Harry, and" turning to Ginny and Teddy who, with Harry's black hair and the flaming red patch, looked uncommonly like Harry and Ginny's child, "thank you too, Mrs. Potter." She gave Ginny a squeeze and patted Teddy on the head, and sadly went off with Rosemary Bayleaf.

"Well, you wanted to grow up. How does it feel to be Mrs. Potter with a month-old baby?" said Harry.

"And I didn't even have to go through ninth months of pregnancy," Ginny grinned. But then in a much more serious tone, she said, "I am really worried about Andromeda."

Molly came out to talk to Harry and Ginny. "How are you doing with Teddy? He seems to be to be much more content than when he first arrived."

"Oh, Mum," Ginny gushed. "You should have heard Harry talk to Teddy. It was so sweet. And Teddy calmed right down. We changed dirty nappies; that's the first time I've ever changed a baby boy or a messy nappy. And I fed him. He just feels so good sleeping on me like this."

Harry got a big grin on his face, and said, "Is this your Happily Ever After, Ginny? Not your hero Harry Potter marrying you in a big wedding the day after the battle, but dumping his godson on you two days after? I love you, Ginny! Mrs. Weasley, I guess we can take care of Teddy for a while."

Molly looked a little flustered at this exchange. Harry and Ginny did look like proud and, she had to admit, competent parents. Like a lot of the past couple of days, this was way too much, way too fast, and there wasn't a lot that she could about it. Molly then said, "You may have Teddy for a while, quite a while. I think Andromeda has had a breakdown. I don't think she can take care of Teddy right now. Ask Rosemary if you need any help. I am sure that she and the girls would be glad to help." Molly had tears in her eyes as she was saying this, like Andromeda having a breakdown was too much, and then she left to get some sleep herself.

Molly went up to the dorm room that had become their home. Andromeda was curled up in one bed, whimpering, shaking. Charlie was sleeping in another, Lee Jordan in yet another. Two of the beds next to each other had George and Angelina Johnson in them. It looked like the beds had been pushed to be right next to each other. George was sleeping, but Angelina was awake, and she came over and gave Molly a hug. Molly had really not seen a lot of George and Charlie the past night, but when she did, Angelina and Lee were with them. Molly dropped into the bed Arthur had been sleeping in. The best they could do for a week or two was sleep in the same bed, even if they slept in it during different times. Molly sank into the spot that Arthur had so recently vacated, breathing in his scent. She planned to enjoy it, but was so tired that she quickly fell asleep.

Downstairs in the Great Hall, Ginny looked at Teddy sleeping in her arms. He had been pawing at her breasts, and she knew her mother had nursed her and all of her brothers. Ginny thought of the Mother Minerva's magical nursing bra. 'Everybody treats me like a little girl,' she thought. 'If I nurse Teddy they'll have to treat me like an adult mother and not a child. Harry will see I am grown up. Maybe Mum will realize I'm old enough. Besides, Mum thinks babies should nurse.'

"Mum thinks nursing is far better for babies than feeding them with bottles," said Ginny to Harry.

"Tonks is dead," said Harry, looking confused. "I wish we could do something, anything for Teddy. He's my godson, so I guess I am responsible for him, especially if Andromeda is having a hard time."

Ginny got the coy look in her face that indicated she wanted something from Harry, and said, "Would you mind if I nursed the baby? Teddy is used to nursing, not taking milk from a bottle."

Harry looked at Ginny's breasts with a quizzical look. "I have the equipment," she said, raising her hands up towards her breasts.

"I've noticed," said Harry, getting red in the face. "Sure, if you think that is best for Teddy. I was an orphan myself, and if we can make Teddy happier I am all for it."

Harry didn't know much about babies, but he was pretty certain that one had to actually give birth to a baby in order to breastfeed. But what did he know? He assumed that Ginny must know a great deal more about it than he did.

Ginny looked at the Mother Minerva's order form, and at Teddy, and at Harry. "Poor little Ginny Weasley!" She'd show them. She thought for a couple of minutes, and then said sweetly to Harry, "Could Kreacher get some supplies from Mother Minerva for us, please?"

Harry called Kreacher and said, "Kreacher, can you please get supplies from Mother Minerva for Ginny? Get anything she wants."

Ginny then told Kreacher to get some formula, and one of the Mother Minerva's Magical Nursing bras in her size, no, two of the Nursing bras. She was not sure how many times she could get away with something like this, but it was worth a try. Besides, she didn't think she could bear another feeding like the last one. She'd actually felt a little guilty that she couldn't give Teddy what he so clearly needed, not just the milk but the physical touch, the reassurance of a mother's love.

"Look, Harry," said Ginny, at about 9:30. On the list were Tim, Yvette and Dennis Creevey. At 9:40 they came through the Floo, Dennis's parents looking very dazed. Seeing Tim and Yvette Creevey, it was obvious why Colin and Dennis were small. Tim was about 5'4", and Yvette was just a little less than 4'10", almost two inches shorter than Ginny. They were both thin and small-boned, and yet very good looking people.

"Hi, Harry," said Dennis, his tone and facial expression looking much different from the eager and almost childish enthusiasm that he and his brother had been known for.

"I am so sorry about Colin," said Harry, feeling the words a bit more deeply than he had with the families of people he hadn't known. He remembered thinking that Colin must have sneaked back into the castle and wondered how Dennis had escaped unscathed. Guilt must have shown on his face.

"Nobody blames you for this war," said Tim, quickly and accurately assessing the situation. "We were in hiding this last year, and I helped Colin make the fake ID's. I'm a professional photographer. Well, I used to be a milkman but I've had some books published that give me royalties, good royalties. Colin and Dennis told me all about you and the war."

Mary Lou Dippet had come up, hauling her little sister behind her, and she said, "I'm sorry about Colin, Dennis. He was so nice, such a good person."

Dennis said, "Hello, Mary Lou. How is your brother Dan?"

Mary Lou was holding back tears as she said, "Dead too, lying right next to Colin." She took a deep breath and then said, almost shouted, with tears streaming down her face, "And my dad is right next to Dan and he is dead too and the Death Eaters killed my mother two years ago and we don't have anything and no place to go!"

She looked at the ground for a moment, took a deep breath and then gazed at the Creevey family with a very forlorn and lost look, and then she said, "I can show you where the bodies are. I want to go back to Danny and Daddy again anyway."

Ginny went with them (leaving a sleeping Teddy with Harry) and ten minutes later she was back. Half an hour later, Dennis and his father Tim appeared. "We have to go back to the Ministry," said Dennis as he gripped his father's arm, to guide him through the Floo.

About half an hour later, they noticed Yvette Creevey at the tables with Rosemary and the children, and Mary Lou and Ann Marie were with her.

A little later, Dennis came back through the Floo alone. "My father is probably coming back with your father," he told Ginny.

Mid-morning the Daily Prophet finally came out.

**Daily Prophet**

_Monday May 4, 1998_

Casualties of the war

The list inside should be almost complete.

Arthur Weasley declared the new head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Auror department badly depleted. Call goes out to the French and American Aurors.

Inside the Prophet there was an article with the headline **Malfoy Saves Potter**. The article read: _One of the mysteries of the Battle of Hogwarts is how Tom Riddle did not know that Harry Potter was still alive. This reporter has found out that the reason that Tom Riddle did not know Harry Potter was alive was because Narcissa Malfoy lied to save Harry's life. Rubeus __Hagrid__, the half-giant, has confirmed that Riddle sent Mrs. Malfoy to check and see if Harry was dead. This reporter has heard Harry thank Mrs. Malfoy for lying for him in the forest. Harry remarked to his friends that, "We are all alive because Narcissa lied to save my life."_

Just after the Prophet came, Ginny also got her Mother Minerva's Magical Nursing bras. Teddy woke up, and Harry and Ginny changed him. The Bayleaf girls were fascinated by the baby, and the Appledorn boys were more interested than they let on. Ginny showed Rosemary the Magic Nursing bras, and they went into a private room so Ginny could put one on. Rosemary did some magical alterations to Ginny's robe, putting in clever slits to give the baby access to her breasts while still maintaining her modesty, and showed Ginny how to get Teddy to latch on, how to hold him so he could nurse, how to take him off, so he could burp without exposing herself. Rosemary also took the time to teach Ginny the 'Scourgify Minimus' spell.

The first time Ginny nursed the baby, it was in private, and she was glad she was not on public display. She could feel the scar on her right breast when Teddy latched on, but it was just a dull annoyance and not a sharp pain, something she could put up with. The amount of suction a young baby could produce was amazing, however, and a little painful at first, although the sensation was not unpleasant.

The second time, she went off into one of the classrooms with Rosemary again. They talked about how insecure Teddy was, and how Ginny's holding Teddy tightly was helping.

By early that afternoon it was time to feed Teddy in public. Teddy had started out just frantic, but the more often Ginny fed him, the calmer he became, although he still wanted to nurse every couple of hours. Ginny knew that if she was not going to hide every time Teddy needed feeding, she was going to have to get used to nursing in public, and that she was going to have to let Harry know what nursing was all about. So at the first break she asked "Harry, what do you know about nursing?"

"What?" asked Harry, looking bemused.

"Have you ever seen a woman nurse a baby?" she asked.

"I don't think so," Harry said. "If I did I didn't notice it."

Ginny then proceeded to explain the mechanics of nursing, the slits in her robes and that she would open flaps in the nursing bra, exposing the end of her breast, so Teddy could latch on.

"How often is Teddy nursing?" asked Harry.

"Teddy's frantic," Ginny said. "His whole world was his mum, and she left, and Andromeda was frantic and Teddy picked up on that, and so he was hungry for food but also for comfort when we got him." Ginny looked at Harry with that fierce determination that he loved. "I'm going to nurse Teddy and love him as much as I have to. Teddy's not growing up without love!"

"I love you, and I love you for loving Teddy," Harry said, as the couple's love for each other almost visibly jumped to a deeper level.

When Teddy woke up and made the motion that indicated he was hungry, Ginny had Harry help her, and while Harry was shielding Ginny, he did see more of Ginny than he thought he would have before they were married. Ginny had Harry burp Teddy, and then had Harry help shield her while she exposed her other breast and Teddy latched on and nursed some more.

This nursing was complicated, Harry thought, trying to sort out his emotions. The only thing he knew for certain was that he was very grateful for how much Ginny was willing to do to help his godson.

Harry had seen how much the Weasley family loved each other. He knew he was kind of included in that love, but always as an outsider. As one of the people caring for Teddy he was a lover, not just one being loved. It was a different feeling, and a real good one, he and Ginny loving each other and that love being big enough to include loving Teddy.

"Change his nappies, Harry" Ginny said as she handed Teddy to Harry. "The wipes are in the bag; he's more than wet."

"By myself, clean poop?" Harry asked.

"You helped me do it the first time" an exasperated Ginny said. "I'll feed him but I'm not doing all the dirty work!"

Harry gingerly took off the nappy and wiped Teddy's smelly bottom. Everything was soft; there was a lot less than this morning's mess and not a lot of wet. He got the dirty nappy bundled up and a clean nappy under Teddy, and feeling very proud of himself said to the half-naked baby, grinning and giggling, "It doesn't smell any better, but when you're playing daddy you put up with a lot of shit."

Teddy smiled and proceeded to wet Harry, the second time that day he received a yellow bath. Harry jumped and almost yelled, and Teddy got a frown and started to cry.

Ginny laughed. "Leaving the squirt gun exposed was probably a bad idea."

"So I'm a slow learner sometimes," Harry said as he sighed, put a dry nappy on Teddy, then took his wand and cleaned himself and the area around Teddy that had also gotten wet.

Early that afternoon, one of the more awkward moments came. Mrs. Crabbe came to pick up her husband, a Death Eater who had gotten himself killed. The fifty dead on Harry's side had been raised to 57, after all of the counting and then including another two people, who had died of their wounds within the week. No one had a good count of the Death Eaters and their allies, a much larger number. There were about 35 Death Eater witches or wizards (not including those that had been removed from the castle before Riddle's defeat), but of the evil creatures there was no count.

She wanted to know what had happened to her son Vincent. Harry said that Vincent had set Fiendfyre to try to kill Ron, Hermione, Draco Malfoy and Goyle, but only killed himself, and Harry thought that the fire had reduced everything to such fine ashes that there was no body to find. It was an extraordinarily tense and loud exchange, and eventually someone got Professor McGonagall and she escorted Mrs. Crabbe to get her husband and had her leave promptly.

Ginny went with Professor McGonagall, since she had not gone into the room with the Death Eater bodies since the previous morning, and wanted to make sure she knew where it was and who was in it. She stayed, even after the headmistress left, because there were two additional bodies that had not been there the day before. She was told by a student, who seemed to be the person stationed in that room, that the bodies were the Carrows and that they had been beaten to a pulp. Ginny spotted a bloody beaters' bat by their side. The student whispered, "I think that everyone who suffered under those two bastards had got a good hit at them."

"Where were they yesterday?" asked Ginny.

"Hanging up in the dungeons," said the student, conspiratorially. "Someone tightened the chains until their feet were off the Floor, and students kept going in and hitting them. By this morning, both were dead."

"Does it feel better after hitting them?" asked Ginny, remembering their decided attention on her and her friends because of their attachment to Harry.

"Not really," said the student, sounding somewhat disappointed.

Ginny took the bat, looked to make sure McGonagall had left the room, looked at her scar, and gave both of the bodies a whack. It really didn't make her feel any better, just a little sick. She cleaned off the spattered blood and went back to Harry.

Later on in the day, the mother of the Carrows came to pick up their bodies. Ginny looked at her and remembered the condition of the bodies. She remembered hitting them herself, and got a little sick to her stomach again. Ginny wished she had never hit the Carrows, that no one had battered them.

"Stupid bastards got selves killed," Mrs. Carrows said. "Tried to beat sense into em. Slow learners, too soft. Said not allowed permanent damage, although they did some. Everybody too soft. Should ave killed a few, do permanent damage. Ya need to do a little killin, like I done to my husbands. First one, killed him when he killed the baby. Needs ta beat kids but not kill em. Second one unhappy cause the baby not his. Twas his friends & he all got drunk n everybody doing everybody. Killed him afore he killed me or the kid. Stupid Bastards."

A short time later she came striding back. "Musta got somebody real mad at em," she said, with a slightly impressed look on her face. "Give em credit for that. Don want em. Bury em, burn em, beat em, iffen it makes you feel good do it. Don have any money foren that. Never had any money anyhow. Lifen not fair afore, no reason fur it being fair now." She left through the Floo.

Shortly afterwards, an unpleasant looking wizard and witch came striding into the Great Hall.

"POTTER!" the wizard shouted. "YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS WHOLE DISASTER! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT HAPPENED TO PANSY?"

"Who?" asked Harry, thoroughly confused.

"PANSY. PANSY PARKINSON!" the wizard shouted.

"I'm not hard of hearing," Harry said. "We have a baby here. Please don't shout."

"Pansy was here before the battle," Ginny said, "I think she left with the other Slytherin students. I know I didn't see her after the battle."

"If she's missing, you had better report it to the Ministry," Harry said, wondering why Pansy hadn't just gone to her parents' house. She'd gotten her Apparition License, hadn't she?

"The Ministry is full of Mudbloods and idiots," the wizard replied, spitting on the floor for emphasis.

"Who are you?" asked Harry.

The wizard looked at Harry with a sneer. "Peter, Peter Parkinson, and this is my wife Priscilla. Grandmother is on the Wizengamot, and the Parkinson family is as pure as they come, unlike some of this half-blooded trash around here."

"Well I'm the half-blooded trash that just defeated that other half-blooded trash Tom Riddle," Harry said very calmly, not allowing this Death Eater sympathizer to get to him. "I'd say that you had better have a big attitude adjustment pretty quickly, if you want anyone to help you find your daughter."

Peter glared at Harry, but Harry refused to allow anything other than mild concern show on his face.

"If you hear of Pansy please let us know," Priscilla said, almost in tears. She quickly grabbed Harry's hand. "No one has seen her since she was in Hogsmeade right after the battle."

Harry nodded his head. Priscilla squeezed his hand once more, perhaps to tell him to try his best, and the Parkinson's stomped out of the Great Hall.

Ginny giggled, despite the frown on her face. "I can't believe you just did that; it was amazing! Where do suppose Pansy might have gone?"

Harry responded gruffly, "I don't know, but the whole thing sounds strange."

"Well, we have the Malfoys here and Draco used to be sweet on her, why not try to talk to him?"

The rest of the day went rather more smoothly than the day before. There were almost as many visitors, but there were fewer people picking up dead bodies, and more people on other errands. Harry still had to deal with a lot of people, and the only reason it was easier on him was that there were fewer people picking up their dead, and Harry was more used to it. Ginny was distracted enough by Teddy that the day went easier for her, although she was still in charge of the letters that Harry could not answer right away.

The other notable thing about the afternoon was that about a third of the people thanked "Harry and Mrs. Potter." Harry did not make a point of correcting people, although, if he had a chance, he let people know that Teddy was Teddy Lupin and that Harry and Ginny were not married (or not married yet). Ginny, for her part, never tried to correct anybody. 'I'm not Mrs. Potter yet,' she thought, 'but maybe by just not correcting people it will just sort of happen. People will think it is all right. They won't treat me as too little and too young.' Ginny was still terrified that someone would say they were too young and force … well, she didn't know who could do what, but it terrified her. Somehow her family worried her more than anyone else, especially Mum and Ron. Neither of them wanted her to grow up.

Lucius came stomping into the hall at about three in the afternoon, and it happened to be when Ginny was nursing Teddy. He went over to Harry and Ginny and, with a sneer, said, "Only a Weasley would suckle the spawn of a werewolf and a Mudblood."

"Did you come over here just to insult my godson?" asked Harry. "That's hardly a way to make friends when one badly needs some."

"Actually, I do have something to offer you," Lucius responded, pulling himself up tall. Indeed, that was all he could do to make himself look respectable, since Narcissa had only just barely cleaned his robes. In fact, Harry would have liked a picture of Lucius looking like a vagrant, as he did just then.

Lucius then leaned in and said, quietly, "I know that the Ministry is broke, and I think I know who is responsible. If you could promise leniency for me and my family, I could help the Ministry find some of the missing money."

"I'll fight for Narcissa and Draco if your leads check out," Harry said, knowing how hard everyone was working on the finances at the Ministry. "I'll not ask for leniency for you. I'm being honest. I don't ever think I will be able to trust you, and I don't like you, but if you are honest, I will believe you love your family."

Lucius looked at Narcissa and Draco, who had come up behind him during this exchange.

"If you love us, then that is what you are going to have to do," Narcissa said, emphasizing every word and looking him straight in the eye. "Even if you don't love us, if you want your son to survive and have offspring, and pass on the Malfoy name, you need to keep him out of Azkaban."

Lucius looked at his wife and then at Draco, who glared at him. With a resigned air, to Harry, Lucius said, "Come with me and I will give you a list of people to talk to."

They spent a few minutes discussing each person Lucius recommended, Harry writing everything down as quickly as he could and making Lucius repeat things just to be sure. When nothing Lucius said wavered from either account, Harry thought he might have a pretty good lead.

Late in the afternoon, two names appeared on the list, John Brown and Armand Dutrey. When they came through the Floo Harry asked, "Are you Lavender's father?" The one Harry asked nodded that he was, but immediately the two men walked, almost ran, towards the door.

Harry saw Minerva McGonagall about half an hour later, and asked her how Lavender was doing. Minerva said, "I don't know, Harry. Not well. She's alive, that's all I can say right now."

Molly came downstairs at about 5:30. Harry was sitting in a chair near the fireplace, quietly talking to Teddy. Ginny was lying down on a sofa that had appeared next to the fireplace. Rosemary went up to Molly and said, 'your daughter and son-in-law are doing a really good job of taking care of that baby."

Molly promptly said, "They're not married. Ginny will not be 17 until August!"

Rosemary said, "Oh, I had no idea, Molly. They look so natural together."

Molly answered back, "Yes they do, and nothing would make me happier than to have Harry marry Ginny eventually and finally really be part of our family. He's suffered so much loss in his life; he deserves some happiness. It is just that they are so young. In some ways, Harry is the oldest 17 year old I have ever known. He has had to grow up so fast. I wish we could get him some childhood back. And it is hard for a mother to see her children, especially a daughter, grow up so fast."

Rosemary then volunteered, "I ought to tell you, Molly, that Ginny got a Mother Minerva's Magical Nursing bra and she has been nursing the baby. She is just a natural! She will make such a good mother."

Molly looked both surprised and a little concerned. "Merlin! Oh my. I'm not sure I'm ready for this. Thank you for telling me."

Harry looked at Teddy and saw the mouth movements that indicated, "I'm ready for some more food." So Harry brought the baby over to Ginny, who woke up from a brief nap, calmly reached into her robe and unfastened the bra, and had Teddy on her breast with a blanket discretely over her, showing nothing and looking like she had been doing it for weeks. Molly just shook her head. She went over and sat down next to Ginny. Ginny looked over at her mother and said, "Mum, how did you nurse the twins?"

Molly took a deep breath. She thought Ginny was going to ask for some advice about nursing Teddy. This was not a question she thought she was going to be asked. "It wasn't that hard. You have two breasts. You just put one on each. Actually it was nice to sit or lie there with both twins…" She got a kind of dreamy look in her face, looked at Ginny , with Teddy on her breast, and then looked at Harry standing there looking at both of them, with that confused and embarrassed look of, OH! Molly suddenly realized, looking at Harry, that he had probably never seen a woman nurse before. She had seen that look on other young men often enough. They got over it quickly enough, but. Oh my, now what was she going to say, what was she going to do?

Harry rescued her by asking, "How is Andromeda doing?"

"I think she is still asleep." said Molly. She had welcomed a change of conversation, but her heart broke for the mother of one of her dear friends Nymphadora and Remus. Andromeda had lost her husband, only child and son-in-law in less than a year. "She is an emotional wreck, and I don't think it is just from lack of sleep. I am not sure she was ever a natural as a mother, and the thought of raising Teddy alone has got her in a full-fledged panic. She doesn't have any money either. It was hard when Ted died, and then to take care of a baby. She does not think she can. Tonks was the only one working, as an Auror, and she had to quit that job the last three months, before the baby was born and was not yet back to work. We have given them food and I think Bill and Fleur gave them food and some money."

Harry promptly and firmly said, "He is my godson, and I'll help. I've got money. There is no way my godson is going to be raised a pauper!"

Ginny said just as firmly, "I'll help too. Harry and I will help together."

Molly was warmed by their immediate offer to help, but she was also worried. She looked at Ginny and said, "Babies have to be changed and fed in the middle of the night too. Once you have started nursing, you can't just stop and start. You're going to be stuck with Teddy for a while."

"I'm sure we can manage, Mum," Ginny said, as she raised Teddy up and told Harry, "Burp him, dear."

Harry gently put Teddy on a burp rag and tapped his back until an air bubble came up Since he now seemed close to sleep, Harry held him gently, talking to him. Ginny reached in and refastened the bra, gave her mother a self-satisfied smile, and settled back into the sofa. Molly did not know if she should be happy that Ginny and Harry were doing so well with Teddy or panic because Ginny was only 16 for goodness sake, and here she was looking like she was married to Harry with a child. Molly was just very flustered.

Andromeda looked terrified as she came into the room, approaching them.

Ginny said, "Mrs. Tonks, there are only two outfits of clothes in Teddy's bag. Can you get the rest of his clothes"

Andromeda said, in a small voice, "He doesn't have any more clothes." She turned to Molly and said, in a voice halfway between panic and tears, "We're going to starve! We don't have anything." Andromeda collapsed down on the floor, crying and shaking.

Molly took hold of Andromeda's hands, pulled her up into a hug, and said, "No one is going to let you starve."

Harry said, "Teddy is my godson, and I have plenty of money. I will make sure my godson and his grandmother are taken care of."

He was very careful to include Andromeda in that statement, in case she thought that they might take her grandson away from her.

Andromeda went over to Harry and hugged him, saying, "Thank you," over and over. She was still shaking, and eventually Molly took her over to a sofa and sat down with her to try and comfort her. Andromeda eventually calmed down some, but just sat on the sofa with her head down, looking very sad. Molly came back to Harry and Ginny and tried to explain what Andromeda might be going through. "The mental wounds can be harder to heal than the physical wounds. Fleur has talked to St. Mungo's, and unfortunately there are plenty of people in much worse shape. We just need to take care of Andromeda as best as we can for a while."

Ginny looked in to Teddy's bag for the Mother Minerva's order form, there was a note on the order form saying you could owl for a catalogue of baby clothes, so Ginny called for Fawkes and wrote a note asking for the clothing catalogue.

Ginny and Molly went to see how many bodies were left of the Hogwarts' defenders. There were only seven bodies left, only two students.

Ginny and Molly came back to where Harry was. Ginny looked at Harry and said, "Remember the little girl that I was comforting when you went to meet Riddle?"

Even dreading the answer, he asked, "How is she?"

"When we got back to Hogwarts, something happened to her, like something inside was damaged or a delayed curse took hold. All of a sudden she said, 'tell Mummy I love her, and I'll give Daddy a kiss for her,' and she died, right in my arms."

"Oh, Ginny," said Harry, horrified that Ginny had to have the little girl die in her arms. "And her parents have not come for her yet?"

Ginny said, "McGonagall said that her father was a Muggle who was killed. The boy next to her had his Muggle mother killed. Their mother and father were living in his house hiding out, and the two students met the summer before last. He was older and tried to protect her and was killed first. I think both were only children."

Harry said, "I hope their surviving parents are all right. I guess if your only child is dead, nothing will make it all right. Too much tragedy! I just wish somehow we could have taken care of Riddle sooner!"

It seemed as though it was Ginny's turn to do the comforting. She gave Harry a look that told him he ought to know better. He smiled, albeit sadly, and pulled Ginny into a soft hug. There didn't seem to be any rules here. When one of them hurt, the other did everything possible to make things better, whether by a smile or a caress, a kiss or a hug. They both used every weapon in their arsenal to make sure that the other one didn't feel bad about whatever horror they had to deal with.

Bill came through the Floo at about 7:30. He wasted no time with pleasantries and said to Harry, "More papers for you to sign. The Goblins and the Ministry want me to do things that I need your permission to do."

Harry said, "All of the financial stuff is way over my head. What do I have to do?"

Bill brought out a huge stack of parchments for Harry to sign. "We're not done with this yet, Harry, but this lets me get started."

Arthur closed the Floo again at 8:00 PM. He was also surprised when he saw Ginny and Harry with Teddy. Then he remembered one conversation that day, when someone had commented on his son-in-law and grandson. He had been shocked, but so much else was going on, that he just let the remark pass. Now he could see why someone would think Harry and Ginny were married and the parents of Teddy. He shared this with the family at dinner.

George, of course, had to quip, "Well it looks like Harry got Ginny in a family way, all right."

Most of the family laughed, but Ron exclaimed, "She's just taking care of Teddy! It's not the same thing!"

"You're such an easy target, little brother," said George.

Everyone shared another smile at this. George sounded like his typical self, but then he ruined it, looking first at Charlie on his one side and then Angelina on his other, waiting for the second joke to be delivered. Faces fell around the table, and everyone quickly worked on their meal, trying not to think too much about the lack of Fred trying to top George's joke.

"I think we make a nice little family," Ginny sweetly said, trying to bring everyone back around. She gave Harry a little kiss and then kissed Teddy, who was awake, before handing him to Harry. Harry kissed Teddy as well, and grinned, holding him so Teddy was visible to the family.

Teddy wasn't thrilled to be held so that he could not see Harry, and started to fuss, so Harry brought him back to face him and started to gently talk to him, saying "Hi, Teddy. I'm your godfather. I love you. Mummy Ginny and I love you and we will always be here for you. You will always know family. We love you."

Harry and Ginny needed to take turns paying close attention to Teddy while they ate; Teddy was still very insecure.

Tim Creevey had come back through the Floo with Arthur, and gone right over to the table where Yvette, Dennis and the two Dippet girls were. Harry asked Arthur, "What is going on with Mr. Creevey? Why did he spend so much of the day at the Ministry?"

Arthur answered, "Tim wanted to make sure that someone was going to take care of the Dippet girls. Everything is in so much chaos that there is no way those two little girls are a priority right now. We have a lot of people homeless and starving and at least those little girls have a roof over their head and food to eat, here at Hogwarts. So, Tim wanted to know what it would take for him and his wife to take them, and he came back with adoption papers.

It seems that Dan and Colin were good friends, and Dennis and Mary Lou are in the same class and are really good friends.

Tim told me, 'If we let those little girls suffer, Voldemort wins. There is no way Yvette and I are going to sully the sacrifice of our son, by letting more innocent children suffer. Besides, as Yvette said, "we have an extra bedroom now.""

Arthur put his head in his hands as he sat down and said, "Too many sad stories. Way too many."

When they sat down for dinner, Harry noticed that a lot of progress had been made in fixing up the Great Hall. When he was not occupied with the people coming through the Floo or Teddy or comforting Ginny (who still needed a little comfort, especially with some of the more difficult or tragic deaths), Harry did have time to observe some of the repair. It was fascinating to watch. The repair went magically fast, which was not too surprising, since Hogwarts was a magical place and there were a lot of witches and wizards working on the repair, not to mention the house-elves, who could actually work even faster than the wizards, when given the authority to do so.

Everybody congratulated Arthur on being made head of Magical Law Enforcement. Arthur told the assembled group that the department was in terrible shape, but they hoped to have help from North America and France soon. "We are not sure how we are going to pay for it. The Ministry's finances are also in a terrible mess."

Harry and Ginny were sitting next to each other, taking care of Teddy, and Ron and Hermione were close, but talking to each other, when Charlie came over and sat down next to them. "It's easier taking care of dragons than girlfriends," said Charlie.

"What is going on?" asked Ginny.

"Angelina really liked the twins, and had gone out on double dates with both of them, usually George because Fred was checking out new girls, but if the twins dated a girl for the second time, Angelina got Fred and George took the other girl out. And Angelina asked George what was going on, and George said that they had decided that, if they were going to get married, they both ought to at the same time, and they were looking for another girl. So she asked who was looking for another girl and he said both of them were, because they both loved her and if one of them fell for a different girl the other would take Angelina. And Angelina got really mad at Fred and George, and she is still sort of mad at George, but she doesn't want to leave him and sometimes they kiss and sometimes they cry and sometimes they fight and I would rather tend dragons."

Ginny looked at Harry and said, "I can see Angelina's point. I would not want to be the consolation prize for the other twin if one of them found someone to marry." For the rest of the time they were at Hogwarts, Angelina was at George's side, usually working together, sometimes holding hands and sometimes arguing.

Just before they left the Great Hall, Harry approached Draco and asked, "Do you have any idea where Pansy Parkinson would be? Her father and mother were here looking for her."

"No idea," Draco said. "But she and her father did not get along. Maybe she is staying with a friend. She was fun to snog, but we are really not going out or anything."

"I thought you were closer than just a casual snog" Harry said.

"Who I did what with is none of your business, Potter" Draco angrily replied.

"Who were her friends?" asked Harry, continuing to push Draco.

"As far as I know she got along with all of her pure blooded roommates" Draco retorted. "She wasn't friends with Granger, that's for sure." Draco turned and walked away.

'Yet another dead end,' thought Harry, filing away the one bit of information Draco had given him.

By 9:00 PM, Harry and Ginny were ready to take Teddy up to the dorm room to try to get some rest.

Ginny turned a chair that was on the side of her bed closest to her parents' bed into a crib for Teddy and put him down in the crib. To make a little room for the crib, she pushed her bed and Harry's bed until they were touching. She took off the robes; she had the same short shorts on, but on top was just wearing the Magic Nursing Bra. Without unfastening them she showed Harry where the flaps were, on the front of the bra that let her nurse Teddy. Harry noticed that the bra did not hide the scar over her breast.

All of this talk of nursing and breasts and showing Harry was driving him nuts. On the one hand he was very protective of his godson and Ginny, with a pride and protectiveness that was paternal and not sexy at all. At the same time, seeing Ginny nursing or in just a bra or talking about breasts really turned Harry on; he was almost ashamed by how much it turned him on, not that he wanted to do anything while she was nursing, that would be gross, but that she was a woman. She was a beautiful woman.

Harry was also sure that Ginny knew what she was doing to Harry. What Harry did not know was that Molly had always been a firm believer that breast feeding was by far the best way to feed infants, not just because of the breast milk but also because of the closeness of the infant/mother bond, and Molly was going to have an almost impossible task of trying to convince herself that she should tell Ginny to stop. Ginny was winning this round; she was the primary caregiver of Teddy for the time being. Teddy being Harry's godson, she had moved the Harry/Ginny pairing closer as well.

Harry found some shabby shorts (everything he had was shabby at this point) and changed out of his jeans. He stripped until he was naked to the waist. Ginny reminded him to take the bandages off of his chest. As he did so, he noticed that the wound from Riddle, that had started out as lightning bolt, like the one on his forehead, was more of a squiggle as it ran from the top of his left pectoral to his sternum. But it had settled into the same state as the scar on his forehead, so he left off the wrappings and pulled on his pyjama top. Then he sat on Ginny's bed next to Teddy, and she sat next to him, no robes, just her short pants and nursing bra. Ginny put some more lotion on Harry's many scars. They covered themselves with a blanket and held each other for about 45 minutes, neither talking, since they were just so mentally exhausted, when Teddy woke up. Ginny told Harry to change Teddy, and when he was finished, she told Harry to sit on the bed. She then sat with her back to Harry; and, summoning the blanket, covered the three of them. She nursed Teddy, settling back with an utterly satisfied look on her face. When she was done, Harry changed Teddy and put him down to bed.

Ginny then told Harry it was his turn, pulled the blanket back over her and put one of Harry's hands on her breast. Ginny knew she was driving Harry crazy. For his part, it felt so good to be touching Ginny, and she was enjoying it so much, it was going to be very hard to stop. When they heard Ron and Hermione coming into the room, they stopped and crawled into their own beds.


	5. Ch 5, Riddles Estate

**Jet this chapters fine.**

Ch 5 Riddle's Estate

Bill started, "In Wizarding law, in almost all countries, there is a special provision for estates if two wizards duel, despite the fact that dueling to the death is now banned in most areas, and the wizard that is killed has no family and no will. Tom Riddle had no issue, no biological family, no will, and no heirs. He never trusted anyone, and never made any provisions in case he died because, as you know …"

"He thought he would live forever," Harry finished for him. There was a fleeting moment where Harry felt a sort of perverse pleasure at having proven Riddle wrong.

* * *

Teddy started to stir at about 5:45, the morning of Tuesday May 5, 1998. He had been up twice in the middle of the night, and Harry and Ginny started what would become their routine. Harry changed the nappies, Ginny fed the baby, Harry changed the nappies again, and Ginny did the cleaning charms on the nappies and wipes when she got up in the morning.

Harry changed Teddy and handed him to Ginny. He went to the bathroom, showered and shaved. When he was done, Ginny was ready to get up, so she handed Teddy to Harry and went into the bathroom, taking a quick shower. Again, while washing her hair, Ginny struggled with the i_Touch-of-Lust/i_ spell. Did nursing Teddy tie her to Harry enough? So far, he had ignored the letters from the other witches. Ginny used the i_Touch-of-Lust/i_ spell with one flick, and immediately felt guilty. She put on her clothes and left the loo. Teddy was back asleep, and Harry and Ginny both took off their robes, but kept on the rest of their clothes, got into one of the beds, and spent about half an hour just holding each other. They were both too tired to do much else.

Ginny fell asleep as Harry held her, but Harry, who needed less sleep than most people, stayed awake and thought that things were still happening too fast. Teddy! Harry thought of the nightmarish eleven years he spent with the Dursleys. There was no way he was going to let Teddy go through that! Andromeda was barely functioning. Ginny had eagerly taken to becoming Teddy's mother, which was good for Teddy, but something about it made Harry a little uneasy. Ginny was so eager to grow up. Then there were the financial things Bill was hinting at, and something to do with the wands and how he had defeated Riddle. And all of the sad stories they'd heard and experienced these days past. Somehow, finally defeating Riddle should have felt like a victory, and it did, sort of, but where was the rejoicing? Harry could not help feeling guilty that he had not found a way to do it sooner.

Finally, there was a stirring and Arthur woke up, followed by the rest of the family sleeping in the dorm room. Their movements caused Ginny to stir, and since the others were starting to get up, both Harry and Ginny got up too, put their robes back on and taking Teddy with them, headed downstairs.

Everywhere they looked, on their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast, it was evident that more clean up and repair had been done overnight, while the rest of them had slept.

They arrived to find the Appledorn and Bayleaf families eating breakfast. Harry and Ginny joined them, with Ginny talking to Rosemary and the little girls while they ate. At 10, 8 and 5, they were fascinated by babies. While she talked to the girls, Harry turned to Michael.

"What is a forensic accountant?" he asked.

"Well, Harry," Michael answered, "a forensic accountant is sort of like an Auror for money; someone who can look at companies or individual's financial statements and figure out if there has been fraud or theft."

Harry asked, "Do you work with Muggle or wizard money?"

Michael replied, "A little of both, since the two are more entwined than most wizards would expect."

"So, if the Ministry thinks something funny was going on with their money last year, you could help them find out what was going on?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Harry, I probably could," said Michael.

Harry saw Arthur enter the Great Hall and motioned for him to join them at the table so that he could introduce him to Michael.

"Tell Arthur what you were telling me about forensic accounting," he told Michael.

And the two men launched into a discussion of the subject, just as a flock of owls flew into the Great Hall, clearly all bearing newspapers. The Daily Prophet had come early, for the first time since Voldemort's defeat, distracting both men's attention as they turned to read it while breakfasting.

It read:

**Daily Prophe**

_Tuesdtay_ _May 5_

On the front page was a nice photograph of Harry, Ginny and Teddy. Under the photograph was the caption, "Harry, Ginny and Teddy Lupin Potter."

Beneath that, there was an article that read:

_iHarry and Ginny Potter have been greeting all of the visitors coming to Hogwarts, over the last couple of days. Many of the witches and wizards have told this reporter that they were very moved by the Potters. "Harry is so nice, so compassionate." "We are honored that someone of his reputation would take the time to great us." "He seems to have such a nice family."_

_This reporter has been thrilled to see Harry gently talking to his son, calming him when he is fussy. Ginny is a natural nursing the baby, who looks just like his parents./i_

By Cindy Base

Arthur was one of the first to read the article and immediately showed it to Harry and Ginny, saying, "You may want to talk to this Cindy Base."

Harry said, "She's a reporter, and we met her, but she has been talking to other people here in the hall and not directly to us. As soon as I see her, I will let her know the true story, and get a correction printed."

More owls came for Harry, and again Harry answered a few, and Ginny saved the rest for later. There were even more letters from witches wanting to meet Harry than there had been before, many saying how they would be ideal girlfriends or wives. Some just offered to have sex with Harry. All of these witches writing to Harry was driving Ginny crazy; Harry sort of knew they were coming but let Ginny have them, and there was no way that Ginny was going to encourage Harry to look at the letters. They were from her rivals, and she was going to win!

There was also a catalogue of baby clothes from Mother Minerva, and Ginny picked out three cute little boy outfits and asked Kreacher to get them, while she and Harry were working that day.

After Kreacher left, Ginny asked Harry, "How is Kreacher going to pay for the clothes? How did he pay for the things I had him get from Mother Minerva yesterday?"

Harry replied, "House elves, with the trust of their masters, can get modest sums of money from their owners' accounts. I do not know how it works, but I do know that it does."

Right after breakfast, Harry and Ginny reported to the Floo, same as they had the days before, to assist whoever would be coming through. Arthur opened the Floo precisely at 8 o'clock and was the first one through, leaving immediately for the Ministry. Then the Creevey family, with Colin's body and the two little Dippet girls, came into the Great Hall.

"We are going to have to leave Robert and Dan Dippet for a few days, until we can find out where their mother is buried and how to arrange a wizard's funeral," Tim told them, before the Creevey family left, the Dippet girls with them.

Immediately, the Floo glowed green again, as the first arrival of the morning came through. Cindy, from the Daily Prophet, stepped from the fireplace with a copy of the morning paper in her hand and beamed at Harry when she saw him.

"I hope you liked my photo and little story," she said sincerely, greeting Harry.

"It was very nice," Harry answered a bit awkwardly. "The prophet has done a good job of reporting the last couple of days. Unfortunately, you do not have your facts right in this story. Ginny is Ginny Weasley, my girlfriend, and Teddy is my godson, the son of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks Lupin, both of whom were killed in The Battle of Hogwarts. It does look like we will be helping to take care of Teddy for a while, but we're not his parents."

Cindy looked deeply embarrassed. "I'm so sorry for the mistake! You look so much like a happily married couple, I just assumed! I will make sure to get the correct story in the paper tomorrow," she assured him, looking at Ginny too.

"Thank you," Harry said, answering for them both. "We'd appreciate that."

Ginny found Cindy a little while later and whispered, "I don't care if the correction is buried in the paper, or if you forget." Cindy did not know what to do. She took her time deciding and the Prophet never did get around to posting the correction.

Meanwhile, Fleur had returned shortly after Cindy, coming through the Floo shortly after 8:00. She checked over Harry and Ginny, and then went directly to the infirmary.

At about 8:20, a witch and wizard came through the Floo: John Jones and Danielle Smith. The wizard spoke to Harry, saying, "My son and Danielle's daughter are among the dead."

Ginny looked at Teddy, who was sound asleep. She went up to Danielle and gave her a big hug. "I brought your daughter back to the castle," said Ginny. "I thought she was going to be able to be healed, but just after we got into the main door something happened. She said, 'tell Mummy I love her, and I'll give Daddy a kiss for her,' and she died, right in my arms."

Danielle turned to John, took a deep breath, and held on to him like she was trying to merge their bodies, starting to bawl.

Ginny tried to compose herself, hoping to hold back her own tears that were threatening. She looked at John and said, "After the battle I found out that your son died trying to protect her. I'm so sorry."

John and Danielle held on to each other for several minutes, while she tried to regain some composure. Then John said to Danielle, "You always expect your children to live on after you. We are just going to have to live on for our children. Tom Riddle, damn you to Hell, you are not going to defeat us."

Both John and Danielle were in tears, but with resigned looks on both of their faces, they followed Ginny to see their children. Ginny felt that it was small comfort; the girl should be alive!

At about 9:30 AM, Bill Weasley arrived. "I need to talk to you privately, Harry. Ginny should come along too. Can someone else tend the Floo?"

Michael and Rosemary volunteered, and they promised to recruit some other help as well. Meanwhile, Bill, Harry, Ginny and Teddy went into a spare classroom.

Bill started, "In Wizarding law, in almost all countries, there is a special provision for estates if two wizards duel, despite the fact that dueling to the death is now banned in most areas, and the wizard that is killed has no family and no will. Tom Riddle had no issue, no biological family, no will, and no heirs. He never trusted anyone, and never made any provisions in case he died because, as you know …"

"He thought he would live forever," Harry finished for him. There was a fleeting moment when Harry felt a sort of perverse pleasure at having proven Riddle wrong.

"Precisely," Bill went on. "Therefore you are entitled to all his assets."

"I didn't think Voldemort was a thief? I thought he was just interested in power," said Harry.

"You can't be powerful if you are broke," replied Bill. "From what little we have seen, so far, one of the first things Tom Riddle did was bloody well made sure he had plenty of money, and the money greased his way into power. We need your help, so that his allies do not get possession of all of these assets."

"What do I need to do?" Harry asked, prepared to do whatever was necessary to prevent Death Eaters from claiming Riddle's ill-gotten gold.

"We need to proclaim you as the winner, in formal language, to make sure the provisions of these laws are followed," Bill explained. "I am going to go over the wording with you, and this afternoon we are going to have a news conference to proclaim your victory."

Harry nodded. 'How much could he have?' he thought to himself. As far as he knew, Tom Riddle had never had a home nor much in the way of personal possessions.

Bill watched him closely, correctly interpreting Harry's expression. "Make no mistake, Harry. Riddle was very aware of these provisions. As near as we can tell, he is on record claiming the estates of 41 British families that he wiped out, killed to the last member, and another 63 families outside of Britain. All of the proper paperwork was filed and witnessed, saying he followed the law and killed them in duels; it really does not matter if he did or not. Some of the estates are very small, but others are huge. In addition, we think there is a lot of money that was stolen from the Ministry, and this money is urgently needed. Our worry is that if you do not claim these assets, there are other people who may be able to get at some of the assets, and most of them are people we do not want to have access to the money or other treasures."

Harry nodded, looking at him warily. This was vastly more than he'd anticipated, and already, he was wondering if there was some other way.

Bill went on. "It looks like many of the vaults, maybe all of them, are protected by spells that can only be broken by the heir of Riddle, or his immediate family. Since you have no magical biological family that leaves you to break the curses."

Harry asked, "Isn't there any way I can get someone else to help?"

Bill answered, "For you, your wife and in-laws would qualify. Despite the photo in the Daily Prophet, I do not think you and Ginny are married - yet. It really does not make any difference. The bride or groom has to be at least 17 for it to count, and to have entered into the marriage freely. Not like this is putting any pressure on you, Harry. I think I know Ginny's opinion."

"No sex until I am 17?" asked Ginny.

Bill was horrified, and said, "Ginny! What a question to ask your big brother! I don't think there is anything in Wizarding law about that, but if you don't want to incur the wrath of your mother, I would be very careful. Plus, I would hope that you want to finish school, and I don't know how being married would affect your schooling, so don't say anything to anybody about this yet."

Harry asked, "Could you use a forensic accountant who is also a wizard and knows wizards' accounting?"

Bill's eyes opened wide, and he looked at Harry with a questioning look. "How do you know about forensic accounting? Yes, we could probably use one full time for years to straighten out this mess!"

Harry quickly replied, "I'll introduce you to Michael Appledorn. He is staying at Hogwarts with his children. I think he needs a job." Harry told Bill that if he was going to make a statement, there were some other things he had to do, and explained about the sword of Gryffindor. He felt that before they started to access the vaults, they needed to get the possession of the sword cleared up.

Bill nodded as Harry explained. "Dad and I have drafted what we thought you might say. We could adapt it, once we get the bit with the sword cleared up. Would that do?"

"Yeah, I think it would," Harry agreed, feeling a bit relieved.

"Do you want to go over it?" Bill offered.

Harry sighed, resigned to the fact that, once again, he was going to have to do something he'd rather not do.

"Yes. Yes, I do," he said.

Bill and Harry went over Harry's statement.

Once they were done, Harry introduced Bill to Michael. When Michael understood what Bill wanted he spent a little time talking to Rosemary, then told his boys, "Obey Rosemary and all of the adults, boys," and left with Bill.

Harry and Ginny went around the castle and found all of the people who they thought should be there when Harry made his statement. Harry also called Kreacher and asked him to contact the Goblins, especially Griphook.

Shortly after 1:00 PM, they were ready. Harry, Ginny, Teddy, Ron, Hermione and Neville Longbottom, several of the Hogwarts professors and other people who had been at the battle were gathered at the Ministry of Magic for Harry's news conference. There were reporters and officials from other countries there too.

Harry started, "Thank you for coming. As many of you know, I am here to proclaim my victory over Tom Riddle to clear up some legal issues. I want to make sure that everybody knows that, although I did duel Riddle alone in the final battle, that that was just the last act in a very long war that started well before I was born. Many people worked very hard, suffered and, in all too many cases, died. They all need to be remembered and honored.

"I feel I have to mention five people by name. The first two are my full partners in all we did over not just the last year, but the last seven years, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley. Over the next days and weeks, I hope you find out more about just how much they were full partners in what we did. I also want to mention the three students who led the resistance at Hogwarts, while the three of us were doing the tasks we were given by Dumbledore. Those students are Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Ginny Weasley.

"Neville is one of the bravest people I have ever met. He honors the memory of his Auror parents. Without his courageous act in killing Riddle's snake, I could not have killed Riddle.

Luna, who is taking care of her father at the moment, is a brilliant young witch who helped the Quibbler to continue reporting the truth for as long as possible. She worked as hard as she could to take care of the students here at the school

Ginny! How can I ever make up to you for all of the suffering I put you through? In some ways, your suffering was more personal. Thank you for continuing to believe in me and for being there for me now."

Harry then said, "On Saturday, May 2, 1998, just as the sun was rising, I, Harry James Potter, defeated Tom Marvolo Riddle, who called himself Lord Voldemort, each of us throwing a single curse. No one else was involved, either on the offense or on the defense. I have before me both of the wands, the one that Riddle used and the one that I used. That wand has not been used since, so you can verify that the last spell I threw from that wand was the one that countered Riddle's spell. The other wand is an old one. It had one spell cast after the one that Riddle cast, which backfired and killed him. It has never been my personal wand. Both wands will be available for examination, but only under my supervision.

"There are many people here who witnessed the duel, and who will sign copies of this document to testify that I, Harry James Potter, killed Tom Marvolo Riddle, who called himself Lord Voldemort, each of us throwing a single curse.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle, who called himself Lord Voldemort, died without a will, without any family or heirs. Therefore I, Harry James Potter, claim any and all estates left by Tom Marvolo Riddle, who called himself Lord Voldemort. I intend to take possession of any and all properties and assets of Tom Marvolo Riddle, who called himself Lord Voldemort.

"Stated this 5th day of May 1998. Copies of the above proclamation are available in English right now. They are being translated into all of the common languages of the world-wide Wizarding community."

Harry then motioned for Neville and a goblin to come up, and said, "We gave the goblin Griphook the sword of Gryffindor, returning it to goblin possession, shortly before the last battle. When a true son of Gryffindor needed the sword, it was available to him, in this case Neville. There seem to be conflicting claims over the sword, and, before the assembled press, we wanted to make public how we resolved this issue.

"The sword is going to be stored at Hogwarts for part of the year, and publicly on display at Gringotts the rest of the year. Any time a goblin wants to have the sword, they just have to ask, and within 24 hours, the sword will be surrendered to them. We are formally conveying the sword to the goblins now, in this ceremony. The Goblins know of the charms on the sword, and that it may be suddenly made available to a true heir of Gryffindor, in their hour of need. I know that the goblin representative wants to say something."

Harry whispered to the goblin, "Where is Griphook?"

The young goblin said, "We will explain later."

Grabhook took his place on the platform beside Harry. Climbing up on a chair to face their witnesses, he said, "We accept this sword, not as a gift, but as a right. Far too often wizards have cheated the goblins, and we have never cheated the wizards. For us, this sword is a symbol, and the conveying, several times a year, acknowledging our rights, is more important than the possession. We thank you, Harry Potter, not for the sword, which is ours by right, but for being the person you are; friend of elves and goblins."

Harry then said, "Any questions?"

The first question was: "Mr. Potter, any idea how many estates may be involved?"

He answered, "I am going to ask Bill Weasley, who is working for me and the Ministry on these issues, to answer most of these questions."

Bill stepped up to stand on Harry's other side. "We can identify 41 estates in Britain, and another 63 in other countries; most, but not all, of the 63 are in or close to Europe," he answered.

"How much money are we talking about?" someone else asked.

Again Bill answered, "A lot of money. Some of the estates are small, but a few are huge. It will take months, maybe years, to get a full accounting."

A reporter with a foreign accent asked, "Is there any truth to the rumor that the Rothchild estate in Switzerland is included? The Swiss community is very upset."

Bill said, "Harry, we have talked about this. I think you should answer the question."

Harry responded, reading from a statement. Bill had warned him that a question like this was coming.

"I do not, in any way, want to take from the Wizarding community of any country their ability to enjoy land or property that has generally been held in or used in trust for the community at large. At the same time, the law is clear. The Rothchild family may have acted as if their properties and immense wealth was in trust for the witches and wizards of Switzerland, but they always kept all of the ownership in a small number of hands, making sure they had enough family members to inherit in case of an accident or illness, but keeping the family small enough so that the wealth would stay concentrated. We have started negotiations with the Swiss. For every property and every country, I can say with absolute certainty that no country would have been better off with Riddle in charge."

A reporter asked, "Bill, are you Harry's brother-in-law?"

Bill answered, "Not yet. Harry, do you have anything to say?"

Harry grinned and said, "It is hardly a secret that Ginny and I are more than dating. I expect that if we become formally engaged, all of you will know soon enough."

Bill stepped in. "We have a lot to do, and have to bring this news conference to a close."

The next step was examining the wands. Mr. Ollivander went first. When he looked at the Elder Wand, his eyes opened wide, and he said, "This is the wand that Albus Dumbledore had, the Elder Wand, maybe the first wand ever made, and certainly the most powerful and deadly. Are you using it now?"

Harry answered, "I wanted to hide it, and I still do. It has done too much damage over the centuries."

Ollivander examined the wand, and then said, "The last task seems to be to repair your wand. Can I see your wand as well?" Harry gave it to him, and he examined it and said, "Your wand has grown in power. Being repaired by the Elder Wand is one reason. The other is because the wizard who wields it has grown in power. Be careful, Harry."

Most of the people interested in seeing the Elder Wand were wand-makers from around the world and they were a very curious lot, as Harry expected based on his experience with Mr. Ollivander. Each person was asked to meet privately with Harry, and all of the conversations were very much the same. "Before you examine the wand Riddle used, you need to swear and magically bind that you will not divulge any more about that wand than what is necessary to verify or deny my story."

Only one person did not agree, and he did not get to see the Elder Wand. For the rest, almost all of the people said something like, "Do you have any idea what wand you have?"

Harry answered each one in the same way. "Of course I do. That is why I made you swear not to tell anyone."

The person examining the wand would then say something like, "Are you sure you do not want to use it?"

Harry consistently answered, "Yes, it has done enough damage." Not once did his answer ever waver.

At the end of the news conference, Arthur took Harry aside and asked, "You and Ginny are very close, almost inseparable. Just what are your intentions?"

Harry thought for a minute, a questioning look on his face, then looked at Arthur and said, "There is no question in my mind that Ginny is the girl that I want to spend the rest of my life with, and she would be thrilled if I asked her to marry me right now. That's what she wanted; me to kill Riddle, then turn to her and ask her to marry her right there! But she is only 16, and has a year of school left. And here I am being told that we really ought to get married as soon as Ginny turns 17, for the good of the Wizarding community. How do you feel about it? She is your daughter, and I guess that I ought to be asking you for her hand in marriage?"

Arthur looked pensively at Harry, and thought for a bit. He thought of the intolerable state of the Ministry finances and how many people would be hurt if the Ministry did not get some money. He thought of how he and Molly had to get married. The last couple of months, he had to leave his job at the Ministry, and he did not have any money either. Arthur thought that half of the good families in the Wizarding community had been hurt financially over the last year. Finally, he said, "Her mother and I got married right after Hogwarts, started a family right away. It's not always been easy. I still do not regret that we got married when we did. You have my permission. You and Ginny are going to go through some hard times too, but that will happen no matter how old you are when you get married."

Harry answered, "Thank you, sir."

"Don't say anything to Molly yet," Arthur cautioned. "I'm not sure how to tell her."

Harry replied, "I haven't asked Ginny yet! She talks like we are going to be married and I am sure we are, but she seems a little eager." Harry thought that Ginny was more than a little eager, but was not quite sure what to say about that to his future father-in-law.

Kingsley Shacklebolt approached Harry, as he and Arthur were coming back into the room. "Harry, you really need to tell us what you were doing last year. Could you tell a small group of people what happened?"

"Could we have some of the DA come? They deserve to know the truth too," Harry answered. "But I would like to make sure we limit the people attending to those we can trust."

"Could you be ready Thursday evening?" Kingsley suggested.

"We should be able to be ready," Harry replied, and they took their leave of the Minister, before making their way back to the secured Floo.

By 5:00 PM, Harry, Ginny, Teddy, Ron and Hermione were back at Hogwarts, arriving through the Great Hall Floo. Fawkes was there to greet them, and Harry asked the scarlet bird to return the Elder Wand to Dumbledore's tomb. He kept Draco's wand, though he wasn't sure why. Neither did he understand why he was carrying two wands around.

When they stepped more fully into the room and away from the Floo, Harry and Ginny found that Rosemary had recruited some other people to help, other people who had been staying at Hogwarts, since their homes had either been destroyed or they felt they were not secure, so they were readily available and had free time.

Since Harry was not tending the fireplace that afternoon, he and Ginny had time for themselves and spent it walking around the castle, looking at the repair work that had been done over the past three days. Eventually, they came upon some very large stones being moved by a crane that looked like some sort of combination of Muggle and magic technology.

One of the people in charge introduced himself as Mr. Grunt, of Grainger and Grunt Magical and Muggle Construction. "Not easy to move everything by just waving your wand," he said. "Too much structural damage."

Harry introduced himself and Mr. Grunt gave Harry his card. "If you ever need anything, just send us an owl. We would be thrilled to work for the famous Harry Potter. And thank you for all you did, killing Voldemort and all that." Harry kept the business card, just in case.

That evening, as they were getting ready for bed, Ginny did not bother to cover herself with a blanket when she nursed Teddy. When Ron and Hermione came into the room, Hermione came over to talk to Ginny and see Teddy. Ginny asked Hermione if she would like to burp the baby. "I don't know, Ginny. All I know about babies I've learned from books. I've never held such a little baby. I've never held any baby."

"It's easy, just hold his head like this," and Ginny took Teddy off her breast, partially closing the flap to her bra without fastening it, and showed Hermione how to hold the baby. "Put him against you like this and burp him like this." Then she gave Hermione Teddy and then casually finished closing the flap on her bra. Hermione took the baby and gently burped him and spent some time holding him. She was not really comfortable with the baby. Finally she looked at Ron and said, "Maybe, someday."

Harry could see Ron was having a hard time handling this scene. Ron was very aware of the female form. Hermione was just bigger than Ginny in every way, taller, bigger around on top and on the bottom and in the middle. She had spent enough time pushing her bosom into Ron the last couple of days, which he was enjoying immensely. At the same time, Ginny was his little sister. He had seen friends of his mother nurse babies, and knew he must have seen their mum nurse Ginny, but these were all grown-up women and this was his little sister. He did the only thing he could think of, which was not to stare too obviously, something that did not come naturally for him.

Ron did not know why seeing Ginny nurse Teddy was bothering him. He had never seen anyone feed a baby any other way, although he had heard his mother complain about some 'unnatural way' some Muggle mothers feed babies. Even when Teddy let go of Ginny's breast and he saw more than he should have, it wasn't exactly sexy, although he didn't want to stare. Maybe it was just that Ginny looked so much like Teddy's mother, and it was easy to think of Harry and Ginny as parents, which meant thinking of them as husband and wife, which meant Harry and Ginny having sex, which would probably happen eventually, but Ginny was only 16.

Harry was probably thinking of Ginny like Ron was thinking of Hermione, but considering how he was thinking of Hermione, what he thought when they were snogging and pushing their bodies against each other, this was not exactly reassuring to Ron either. Bloody hell, his head was starting to hurt, thanks to this train of thought.

Hermione eventually gave Teddy back to Ginny, who handed him to Harry. Harry changed the nappies and put Teddy down to bed.

Harry and Ginny looked around the dorm. In one bed was Andromeda. She was curled up in a fetal position, whimpering.

Ginny just shook her head. "Even when I thought you were dead and all hope was gone, even then I was going to go out fighting," she told Harry quietly. "I feel so sorry for Andromeda, but I have to say, I have a hard time understanding her. Things will be better tomorrow!"

Ginny had almost no knowledge of the Muggle world, but she liked to think about herself very much like Little Orphan Annie and her theme song might as well have been "The Sun will Come Out Tomorrow." Of course, she was much more complicated, and Ginny was having a hard time because of the tragic stories she kept facing day after day. Despite the almost overwhelming sorrow confronting her, Ginny was determined to make her dreams come true and to be positive for this little boy who needed her love and support.

Harry looked at Ginny and Teddy and thought that, as confusing as his life was, it was vastly better than being hunted by Riddle. Harry and Ginny crawled into their beds and were asleep within minutes.


	6. Ch 6, Harry tells his story

**Ch 6. Harry tells his story**

"Much subversives," Kreacher said, nodding his head like he'd become accustomed to such strange actions.

"We will obey Harry Potter," Aristotle said. "But is changing the magic!" Aristotle was obviously quite frightened about writing the names in elfish.

_Ginny was going to hold on to the ones from all of the witches eager to get their hands on HER Harry, but she did tell Harry that they had better compose an answer to the people thanking him._

* * *

Wednesday morning, Teddy woke up just before 6:00 AM, and Harry and Ginny handled it the same way they had the day before. They began to realize that they were falling into a comfortable routine. They spent a few minutes snogging, once Teddy was settled again, before going down to breakfast, and picking up the daily owls. Shortly after 8:00 AM, they were ready for the rest of their day.

Today they were going to Gringotts to try to get into the first two vaults. Michael Appledorn came along, and they met Bill at the entrance to Gringotts in Diagon Alley.

"Good morning, Harry, Michael. Good to see you, Ginny," Bill greeted them.

"Good morning, Bill. Could I speak to you for a moment?" Harry asked, hesitating before approaching the entrance to the bank.

"Sure. What can I do for you Harry?"

"I was wondering …the last time Ron, Hermione and I were here, we did quite a lot of damage. I'm surprised, actually, that the goblins are going to let me in."

"Ah," Bill responded. "Well, the fact is that the cost for repairing the damage has come up. In fact, it was a fairly touchy subject for us in making these arrangements, that is until yesterday."

"What happened yesterday?" Harry asked, looking puzzled.

"You returned the Sword of Gryffindor to them, Harry. You arranged for them to have it on a regular basis and recognized what they feel is their right to it. That has made all the difference to them. I was informed this morning that, to the goblins, having possession of the sword is worth the cost to repair the damage to the bank."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked warily, still glancing at the guards standing beside the entrance.

"Positive," Bill assured him. "Come on. We have a lot to do."

Harry nodded, and together, their little group approached the entrance. The guards greeted them cordially, and Harry was nearly convinced that he was going to be allowed to access, when a small knot of goblins intercepted himself and Ginny before the golden doors leading to the vaults.

"They're worried that you brought Ginny and Teddy with you," Bill suspected.

It didn't take them long to figure out that Bill was right. The goblins were not happy to have Teddy with Ginny and insisted that he stay in the baby carrier, securely confined to her, while they were riding to the vaults.

With the goblins appeased, Michael, Harry, Bill and Ginny, carrying Teddy, followed their two goblin guides and crammed themselves into a waiting cart. They set off, riding the cart through neck-breaking turns at high speed, down to the level of the vaults. Teddy, who was already not happy to be confined, was even unhappier with the ride and shrieked loudly in protest, promptly throwing up over the side of the cart upon arriving at their first stop, and he continued to wail.

They all climbed out, Ginny staying slightly behind, doing her best to calm the infant, while Bill, Harry and the goblins approached the vault. They had a hard time removing the curses guarding it, and as Bill had predicted, only Harry could break the curses. Not even he could change the curses to allow Bill to open the vault.

According to the plaque that appeared beside the door, once the vault was opened, this first vault had belonged to the Nott family, one of several inter-related Nott's that could trace their ancestry back to the early days of wizards in Britain. Bill, Michael and the goblins went over the records until almost 12:00 noon, with Harry having to unlock inner vaults and to cast counter spells to allow various records to be viewed. In the end, they identified a substantial amount of suspicious money, which was confiscated and moved to the Ministry Treasury. They also took documentation that allowed an appointment to a permanent seat on the Wizengamot.

"It's almost noon. Shall we have lunch?" Bill suggested, as they finished.

"Good idea," Ginny agreed, as her stomach rumbled.

"Don't we have more to do?" Harry asked, looking around at all of the many vaults on this level, wondering how many of them they were going to have to enter and go through.

"Harry, we have loads more to do," Bill agreed. "And it's going to take weeks, if not months to get through everything just in Britain. We've made a good start this morning, and this is a good stopping point before we continue."

"Good point," Harry conceded. "Lunchtime it is. How about the Leaky Cauldron?"

Ginny and Bill smiled and it was decided. Harry invited the goblins to join them, but they declined, saying they didn't much care for wizards' food, as they all climbed back into the cart for the ride back up to the top.

Teddy's second ride in the cart didn't agree with him any more than his first one had, and Ginny spent their walk through Diagon Alley trying to calm Teddy back down. Bill got them a table, and they all sat down, talking over what had been discovered. By the time they'd ordered and been served, the discussion had drifted and Bill began to go over some of the Weasley family history as they ate. Bill started in, "At one time, the Weasleys had property and a seat on the Wizengamot. Then, several centuries ago, they got into a battle with several other old families because of their support for the rights of Muggleborns. In the end, on what were almost certainly trumped up charges, the Weasley family lost its property and seat. Ironically, Harry, the seat that you inherited was the original Nott seat and the living Notts have the seat that was originally a Weasley seat.

"That's amazing," Harry declared, as he considered the pattern in which the Wizengamot seats had changed hands.

"Isn't it though?" Bill agreed. "Our history if full of instances like that. There are so few of us, with the same families interacting over the years, it was bound to happen from time to time."

"I suppose," Harry agreed, immediately deciding what he wanted to do. "I think I know what I want to do with this seat now though."

"What?" Ginny asked curiously. She'd been struggling to follow the conversation while also trying to eat and to tend to Teddy.

"I'd like to give it to Arthur. Then, since it's a permanent seat, Arthur could leave it to you, Bill, when he wants to retire. That way your family will have its seat back."

"Are you sure, Harry?" Bill asked. "That's quite a valuable thing to just give away."

"I'm sure," Harry told him firmly. "I already have a seat representing the Potter house."

"You do?" Ginny asked.

"Of course he does, Ginny. The Potters are an old, established family that has been prominent for centuries, until Voldemort came to power," Bill informed his sister.

"I didn't know that. I thought it was only Harry," she murmured, looking at her boyfriend with newfound respect.

"Harry's the only modern representative of that line, but the seat has been his since his parents died," Bill told Ginny.

"That's right," Harry agreed. "So I already have a seat, and in my opinion, your family should have one as well. It's the right thing to do, giving it to you. Besides, the more people we have representing those who took a stand against evil in this war, the more it will help restore some of the balance of power to the Wizengamot … something it's been lacking, even before the war."

"Agreed," Bill said. "Transferring the seat is going to take some time."

"Can we start on it right away?"

So Harry and Bill decided to start working on transferring the seat that same afternoon, along with visiting a second vault that was on Bill's list.

"Do you mind if I sit the afternoon trip out?" Ginny asked, as they got up from the table.

"I thought you wanted to come along," Harry answered in surprise, remembering Ginny's declaration that he wasn't ever to leave her again.

"I did … and I'm glad I came; only Teddy doesn't like the carts much, and it hasn't been much fun trying to make him feel better. Besides, it's time for his nap, so maybe I should take him back to Hogwarts," she suggested.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked.

Ginny nodded. "Besides, with him waking up in the middle of the night to nurse, I need a nap too. I had no idea how tired mothering an infant made you. I'll see you back at the castle." She kissed Harry on the lips, in spite of holding Teddy, and went through the Leaky Cauldron Floo to the Ministry. From there, she could take the secure Floo back to Hogwarts.

The afternoon was similar to the morning, except there was no seat involved, and there was more money transferred to the Ministry. Harry saw Grabhook, as they were getting ready to leave Gringotts for the day, and remembered his promise to the elves, resolving once again to find a way to help them.

Harry and Michael followed Bill out through the golden doors, expecting to turn towards the Leaky Cauldron, so they could follow Ginny back through the Ministry to Hogwarts again, but Bill and Michael led him an another direction. Down a small side street Harry had never noticed before, Bill took Harry to where there was an office building just off of Diagon Alley.

Before they went inside the building, Bill explained, "I'm working for you now, Harry, as is Michael. We need more documents signed, and personal trusts set up. A lot of paperwork. He led the way to an upper Floor office that looked down on the shopping street below.

"You do the paperwork and I will sign it," said Harry.

"You need to know what is going on," Bill advised him. "Some of the money involved has been stolen from the Ministry, but we have no idea how much. If a wizard dies without a clear will and heirs, the money is supposed to go to the Ministry. We would like to turn over half of the money from these estates to the Ministry right now to keep it from going broke."

"I do not have any problem with that," said Harry.

"You can also help a lot of people who need it, but to do it properly, we need a charitable trust set up," said Bill.

"Do it," Harry agreed.

"That's what some of these documents are, Harry," Bill explained. "Transferring this much money is a lot harder than just giving a few Galleons in cash to somebody."

"Do it," Harry repeated.

The office that Bill led them to was a reasonably plush. A wizard, who seemed to be an assistant of sorts, escorted them into an inner office, where they were met by a witch in very elegant robes. She directed them to some sofas to wait for a few minutes. After receiving the okay, he then led them to a large office and introduced them to an evenly more lavishly dressed witch, saying, "Harry Potter, Michael Appledorn, I want to introduce you to the best financial legal advisor in Britain, Marge Baker."

"Pleased to meet you," Marge said, as she had them sit down, her manner brusque and businesslike.

"First, Harry has to sign additional documents to set up the Harry Potter Trust, and then Harry really needs to approve your salary," Marge added, nodding at Bill. "The goblins wanted Bill paid 30,000 Galleons a year, minimum, but he insisted on 25,000 at most, because 30,000 would mean he's earning twice what his father is earning."

"I want Bill to be paid whatever he is worth," said Harry, thinking about the amount of time Bill had worked on his behalf and the fact that he would be floundering otherwise.

"Do me a favor and say 25,000, Harry. That is three times what I was making, even with bonuses," said Bill.

"Fine, for right now 25,000," Harry agreed with a mental sigh, admitting that Bill's insistence was honorable. "Is that it?"

"Well, in order to make it easier to find out what is going on with some of these estates, I really could use goblins and elves on staff, and that is highly irregular. I have the documents for you to sign, but you need to know what you're signing. I'm warning you, some people are going to be unhappy.

These documents give Kreacher and me unprecedented power to ask questions on your behalf, and to hire goblins to help. Wizards have never put any responsibility in the hands of house-elves and never trusted goblins much. Many have never trusted other wizards all that much either, and many people think you are daft giving Michael and me this much power. I think we ought to do this, but by delegating and not insisting on personally approving every financial decision you are changing hundreds of years of tradition."

"You're the financial expert, Bill," Harry said. "I trust you. I don't want to have to learn all of this! I've got enough to worry about right now, and I can't tell you how grateful I am to have someone that I can rely on."

It occurred to Harry just how far he'd come recently. He'd never known how to ask for help, let alone delegate tasks. But he was glad that he'd learned that lesson, even if it had been the hard way.

"Well then, you are going to have to trust me, Michael, Fleur and Kreacher." And sign all these documents to confirm it." Bill pushed a couple of documents at Harry.

Harry looked a little warily at Bill but said, "All right," as he signed another couple of documents. "Anything else?"

"Just that, and these."

Bill pushed forward a stack of parchment related to the business they'd conducted that day. Resigned to his role of signing when needed, Harry settled himself at a desk and worked his way through the mountain of scrolls, signing over the funds they had discussed, the Wizengamot seat for Arthur and dozens of other, smaller agreements. Finally, he rose and stretched his fingers. Bill bundled the signed documents to return to the bank. Together Bill, Harry and Michael left the office building, and dropped them off on the way, as they walked together.

"Fleur was telling me, last night, that there are a lot of medical needs, both at the castle and at St. Mungo's," Bill commented to Harry as they stepped into the Floo at the Leaky Cauldron.

"She wanted to see if the trust could pay for some of them. Just one is the special wizard that the Browns have found for Lavender," he finished as they stepped out at the Ministry.

"Of course the trust can pay for Lavender," said Harry, as the trio brushed themselves off and then joined the queue for the secure Floo to Hogwarts. "Just how much money are we talking about? It sounds like a lot, maybe a million Galleons or more."

"Both the Potter and the Black estates are worth about a million Galleons each," said Bill, as they arrived at the front of the line. "The total Galleons we are dealing with, not even counting the Swiss, could easily climb to over a hundred million Galleons, maybe well over that."

"That's a lot of money," said Harry, said as he and Bill stepped into the Floo.

"Harry, we could easily be talking about a billion Galleons," said Bill as they arrived at Hogwarts once more. "That's a huge amount of money to have killed for and stolen, and a huge amount of money to manage."

Harry nodded. He was just beginning to get a feel for how much was involved, but there was no time to talk about it anymore now. It was nearly 7:00 PM and dinner was being served, earlier than it had been the days before, when they had been working until 8:00.

He, Michael, and Bill made their way to the tables and found that the combined Appledorn/Bayleaf families had joined the extended Weasley clan, minus Arthur and Percy, who were working until 8:00 PM as usual, for dinner.

Bill kissed his wife, who looked weary. "You've said that there are a lot of people who can't pay for their medical care. How can we find out who they are and how much they need? Harry has generously set up a trust to care of those needs."

Harry nodded his approval.

"Oh Bill, Arry, zere is zoo many needs," exclaimed Fleur, perking up immediately. "Lavender's mama an' papa not know ow zey are paying for her care."

"Do you want to tell Lavender and her parents that the trust will pay for her medical care?" asked Bill of Harry.

"Not really," replied Harry. "I'm embarrassed enough by all the people thanking me. Can you not let anyone know that I have anything to do with this?"

"Probably not," said Bill. "I'll do my best to keep the trust anonymous, but I doubt it will work."

"Fleur," said Bill, turning to his wife, "can you let the Browns know that a trust will be taking care of Lavender's bills?"

"I will!" she said, and then she turned to Harry and said, "Sank you, Arry, sank you so much! I will make sure no one lacks zee care because zey lack zee moneys!"

Harry noticed the Malfoy family and told Bill about the conversation with Lucius. Bill turned to the other people at the table and said, "Harry and I need to talk to the Malfoy family alone."

Bill went over and got Michael Appledorn, and then called, "Kreacher." The house-elf appeared with his usual CRACK. "Tell them what you told me," Bill said, and Harry briefly relayed his story.

"Kreacher and I will take care of it," Michael said, with a wicked grin.

"Will be most pleasant outcome for Master, most unpleasant for Lucius," Kreacher said.

The four approached the Malfoy family.

Harry said, "Lucius, I want to introduce you to my representatives, the people who will be talking to you about the missing Ministry money, my house-elf Kreacher and my forensic accountant Michael Appledorn. They work for Bill Weasley, who is my personal financial representative."

Lucius looked at the group before him, and Harry thought he turned more shades of color than a human, wizard or Muggle, was capable of turning. "I talked to you, Potter. I never said I would talk to your servants and certainly not a house-elf," he said.

"They are managing my money," Harry replied. "I have signed documents delegating unprecedented powers to them, and I want you to answer their questions."

"To a house-elf?" Lucius replied, indignantly.

"Hard to lie to a house-elf," Harry said, grinning.

Lucius had a furious look on his face. It looked like he was going to say something when Michael said, "I see you know the magic, Mr. Malfoy. Kreacher has been most helpful. It is not possible to lie to the honest house-elf of an honest wizard. It takes a good forensic accountant to know what questions to ask, and I think I'm pretty good. Harry, Bill, we can take it from here."

Harry and Bill went back to the dinner table. Glancing over at the Malfoys, they could see a very unhappy Lucius talking to Michael and Kreacher.

After dinner, Harry and Hermione went down to the kitchens to talk to the elves about Kreacher's request to bury the two house-elves. Kreacher said he was not the elf to talk to, and eventually, a very old house-elf came out.

"Call me Aristotle," he said. "We are honored that you would want to help us bury our dead."

Harry asked, "Where are house-elves buried? Is there a graveyard here?"

Aristotle answered, "Many house-elves are not buried, but masters just throw them out. Some have been sent to be rendered like cows and horses. But at Hogwarts, we have buried our dead for many generations."

"Can you show us this graveyard?" asked Harry, feeling a little sick at the thought of house-elves being thrown out like rubbish or worse even still, being slaughtered like animals.

Aristotle just walked out the door, and the friends followed. A little ways from the castle, they came upon a reasonably large mound. "How many house-elves are buried here?" asked Harry.

"About 2,000" said Aristotle.

"There is no marker, no list of names here!" said Harry indignantly. "Do you have a list of names; do you know who is buried here?"

"We know all 2,346 names," said Aristotle.

Harry perked up. "We ought to have a monument with a list of all the names, with plenty of room for more names as house-elves die. Can I bring Headmistress McGonagall here? Can we talk about a monument with her?"

"House-elves is not all named," said Aristotle.

Harry insisted, "They all have to have names. How do you talk to each other? How do you record who was born and died?"

Aristotle thought for a moment, obviously trying to come up with a proper reply. "House-elves do not all have names from masters. House-elves has own language and names and writing, but not for masters, not for their owners."

Harry answered, "Could we have a monument with names in elfish and English, please?"

Aristotle looked startled and asked, "Is that what Harry Potter wants?"

Harry answered back, "Yes, very much. If I get the monument, can you take care of writing the names? Elfish on top, English below if there is an English name."

Aristotle again looked surprised, even scandalized, and commented, "Elfish on top. Oh no, Harry Potter, we cannot do that!"

But Harry insisted, "Yes, Aristotle; you are elves, elfish on top! It has to be elfish on top! And when we have the monument, we will dig the graves for the two house-elves who died in the battle, and they will have their names on the monument."

"Elfish on top could change the magic," Aristotle said in awe and not a little amount of fear. "Even writing elfish for all to see could change the magic. Harry Potter changing the magic that keeps house-elves safe!"

"You changed it when you took our side at the Battle of Hogwarts," Hermione said. "You were not really safe when Tom Riddle was in charge. You are not really safe when your masters abuse you."

"What's so wrong about putting the names in Elfish?" asked Harry.

Aristotle responded, "Language important. ELVES speaks ELFISH in public? We is not allowed to use elfish in public for as long as written history. Cannot do that!"

"It's a direct order, Aristotle," Harry insisted, belatedly realizing that he didn't have authority over the house-elves of Hogwarts, only Kreacher. "You deserve recognition. You fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, when you did not have to. You suffered casualties, just as everyone else that fought. You must be treated better than you have been!"

"Kreacher!" Aristotle said.

The old house-elf appeared beside Harry.

"Harry Potter wants a marker with names in Elfish and English for the Hogwarts house-elves," Aristotle said to Kreacher, frowning at Harry.

"Much subversives," Kreacher said, nodding his head like he'd become accustomed to such strange actions. "Prophesies say Harry Potter the friend of house-elves and goblins."

"Is changing the magic," Aristotle repeated, shaking his head.

"Is changing the magic," Kreacher agreed. "Harry Potter gives Kreacher most hard order: do what is best for house-elves, for now and for future. Is hard. Is subversive."

"We will obey Harry Potter," Aristotle said. "But is changing the magic!" Aristotle was obviously quite frightened about writing the names in elfish.

"Can I help dig the graves?" asked Hermione, looking warily at Aristotle. There were tears in her eyes, and Harry suspected that she knew that the change in the magic would help to promote their cause better than anything else possible.

"Yes, you have always been pushing us for house-elves' rights. You, of all people, need to help dig the two graves. Aristotle, we need to talk to the headmistress. We will be back to see you soon."

They found Headmistress McGonagall in her office and told her what they wanted to do. Harry explained a little about burying Dobby and how that helped them get Griphook to help them break into Gringotts, and how important he thought it was and McGonagall agreed.

Harry also mentioned a little about having the names in Elfish, and, together, they turned to Dumbledore's portrait and asked for his thoughts. He agreed with what they were doing, in fact looked very pleased, but also concerned. He warned Harry and Hermione that exposing the Elfish language, and giving it prominence, was not a minor matter.

Dumbledore explained, "I've tried to learn how the house-elves were enslaved, Harry, Hermione. Language is not a trivial issue. How house-elves talk to each other, about each other and about the people they serve is very important. It causes them to think a certain way. I could not learn the language, and I had a minor gift for languages. I think you would have to start as a very young child to learn Elfish and to do a good job of changing the magic. I am sure that in changing the magic you would change the language, and I almost think that just by changing the language you would change the magic."

"Just by publishing the Elfish language we will do all that?" Hermione asked. "Is it safe?"

"I think it's a good thing to do," Dumbledore replied. "I never said it was safe. And it's going to take a lot more than words on a wall to free the house-elves, but that's a start, an important one."

"Do what is right, not what is easy," Harry repeated. "Not everything is safe. Doing the right thing is not always safe."

Hermione got a sick feeling. She wanted the house-elves to have their freedom, but she did not want to start something that would end up hurting them.

Together, the group drew up an arch leading into the area of the graveyard, with a large wall on each side. Harry wanted one side of it to be large enough for over 2,000 names, so that there was plenty of room for more names. Harry said that he would pay for any expense, but the headmistress would have none of it.

"They are Hogwarts house-elves, and we should take care of the expense," McGonagall told him.

McGonagall thought that with magic, two days would be enough to have the monument in place. Harry and Hermione let Aristotle know that the gate and wall would be done by Friday and they could bury the two elves on Saturday.

* * *

Harry woke up and grabbed for his glasses. He reached for his watch. 'Seven AM already?' he thought. 'When have I needed nine hours of sleep? Oh, how many times was I up with Teddy last night? I didn't feed him. Ginny must have been awake for hours in the middle of the night. What day is it? Thursday? Do we have to tend the Floo? I guess that is over for us. Answer letters, get ready for the talk tonight.' Harry went to the loo, getting back about twenty minutes later. Molly was standing next to the bed she and Arthur were sharing, looking at her husband, but when Harry came in she turned to him.

"Hello, Harry," she whispered. "I'm just trying to decide if I should get into bed with Arthur and risk waking him up. Others are up, and I'm tired."

"Ginny seems exhausted too," Harry whispered back. "I know she is awake a lot at night, nursing Teddy. I'm getting up to change his nappies, but I think I can almost change the nappies in my sleep."

"By the time we had Charlie, Arthur could change nappies in his sleep. Ginny really appreciates you changing the nappies," Molly quietly replied.

Molly gently sat on the bed next to Arthur, and Harry went into bed next to Ginny. She had started to stir, and he gently kissed her. Ginny looked at Harry and smiled, reached for her breasts, felt them and then reached for the baby bag and got the bottle with the milk, the formula and her wand. Ginny saw her mother sitting on the bed next to them, grabbed a nightgown, hastily put it on and stumbled to the bathroom. Ginny went to the loo, made more milk and used the charm to fill up the nursing bra, almost without thinking. She finally looked at her wand and thought, 'Do I have to use the i_Touch-of-Lust/i_ spell? No, probably not. I'm too tired, and nursing seems to be … and Harry seems to be …' Ginny really was tired, and she stumbled back to bed.

Ginny looked at Harry, gave him a little kiss, got out of the robe, crawled into the bed and almost immediately went back to sleep.

Just before 8:00 AM, Harry heard Teddy making gentle noises. He went over to the crib and picked up Teddy, changed his nappies and laid him on the bed. Harry started to quietly talk to Teddy, but soon Teddy made the mouth motions that said, 'I'm hungry.' Harry gently shook Ginny and said, "Teddy's hungry."

"MMM, mmmm, wha … wha … all right," said Ginny. "Close the curtains, Harry."

Harry waved his wand to close the curtains. He made them close around both beds so that the two beds were in their own little closed off area. Ginny felt both breasts and opened one of the bra flaps, then looked towards Harry and Teddy. "Give me the little bugger," she said. Harry handed Teddy to Ginny, who positioned him close to her and waited for him to latch on. Very quickly Teddy found what he was looking for and started to suck greedily at Ginny.

"I love you, Ginny," said Harry. "Thank you for taking care of Teddy."

"You're welcome, Mr. Potter," Ginny replied, grinning. "Nursing feels so good, and having your approval and love feels even better."

"You're welcome, Miss Weasley," Harry said with a flourish. Harry saw more of Ginny, when she opened the bra, before Teddy latched on, but it was just part of feeding Teddy. It was sexy, sort of, well, it was really sexy, but it was also so natural. Harry just marveled that something like nursing could be both the sexiest thing in the world, seeing your girlfriend with a baby sucking on a breast and the most paternal thing in the world at the same time.

"August 11," said Ginny. "Remember, if the Ministry needs us to be married when I turn 17, we need to get married August 11th, and I'll be Mrs. Potter."

Harry gave Ginny a gentle kiss, and thought, 'This marrying thing is getting serious. I really want to marry Ginny, and would love to marry her when she turns seventeen, but how can you ask your sixteen year old girlfriend to marry you? How are we going to work this out?' The discussion ended here, however.

* * *

When Harry, Ginny and Teddy got downstairs, there were more owls for them over breakfast. All of the urgent ones had been answered, but the ones thanking Harry and the ones expressing their love for Harry had not been answered and the pile of them was growing. Ginny was going to hold on to the ones from all of the witches eager to get their hands on HER Harry, but she did tell Harry that they had better compose an answer to the people thanking him.

"I think that we should include Hermione and Ron, and ideally Neville, and you, obviously. Maybe Luna too," Harry insisted.

Ginny argued some, but they worked together and eventually they had a form letter that she could duplicate and use to answer the letters thanking him or them. It read:

_Dear …._

_Thank you for your kind letter._

_Many suffered for many years under Tom Riddle and his supporters, and we were just the last to add our support to the struggle. We are very fortunate to have played a part in getting rid of Tom Riddle for good. Like many of you, we have suffered losses in the war, with family members being tortured or killed. We are sorry for your losses._

_We are sorry we could not mention all of the hundreds of people who helped in this struggle. One, Luna Lovegood was a full partner with Neville and Ginny at Hogwarts last year, but unfortunately she was not available for the enclosed photograph or to sign this letter, because she is taking care of her father, another victim of Tom Riddle._

_Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley_

_Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley_

Ginny could change the letter, as needed, to better answer individual letters, but the form letter would definitely make things go faster, and she thought she would be caught up with answering all of the letters thanking Harry in just the next few days.

After breakfast, they found Ron and Hermione, then Neville, who was still eating.

They had someone with a camera take a photograph of the five of them; Ginny and Neville sitting down, and behind them Harry in the middle with Ron on one side and Hermione on the other.

"We'll send a copy of this photo with every thank you letter we answer," Ginny explained, when she was asked, and everyone readily agreed.

With the photo done, Harry turned to them all, saying, "We have to get ready for our talk tonight. Gin, a lot of what we are going to talk about, we do not want anyone else to know, but you should know everything. Is that acceptable, Ron, Hermione?"

"Yeah, Harry, you're the boss," said Ron, and Hermione nodded yes.

After taking over an old abandoned classroom, they explained what Horcruxes were to Ginny, and how they had to destroy all of them.

"Are you going to tell everybody that?" Ron asked.

"Hm, maybe. I think it's okay for people to know that we had to destroy objects to kill Riddle, but maybe we shouldn't say what the nature of the objects was," Harry suggested, looking at Hermione.

"I agree," his bushy-haired friend said.

When they got to the Deadly Hollows, they explained everything to Ginny, but decided not to mention them to anyone else. Ginny learned that Ron had left and some of the problems that the locket caused, but they decided not to talk about those with anyone else either. Harry wanted to keep the talk down to about an hour, something that ended up being impossible to do. It took most of the day to get a good outline together.

After dinner, they went to a classroom. All of the Weasleys were there. Almost all of the Hogwarts staff was there too, including Professor Binns. Harry assumed that some version of the talk would become part of a dry history lesson someday. Most of the remaining members of Order of the Phoenix were there. All of the DA was there, including those recruited in the last year, and some Ministry officials that Kingsley and Arthur had approved.

As they waited to begin, Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione sat quietly, each lost in his or her own thoughts.

Hermione was going over the outline, trying to make sure, for the hundredth time, that they did not say too much or too little, trying to anticipate questions. She looked over to Ron and thought briefly about their relationship. Ron was surely in love and trying hard not to be an idiot about it, something that was not all that natural for him. Ron really cared for her, one of the things that she loved so much about him. As for the physical part, that was enjoyable too. If they were going to do it, they were going to get really good at it, but there was a time for that and now was not the time. Her eyes flitted to Ginny, who was watching Harry like a hawk. 'Ginny's terrified because of all of those other witches wanting him, and Harry does not even want to look at the letters,' thought Hermione. 'Relax, Ginny!' Her eyes drifted to Harry, who like her, was looking over the outline. Hermione shook herself mentally and went back to the outline too.

Ron was trying to think about the speech. They were going to talk about him saving Harry and destroying the locket but not about him leaving. He was going to come out looking more like a hero than he deserved, thanks to Hermione and Harry and how they wanted to tell the story.

Most of Ron's attention was focused on Hermione. When did she get to be so gorgeous? He always knew that she was a girl and not bad-looking. She was no Fleur, and all of her parts were sort of average-sized, but she had all of the right parts, and they all felt really good, at least all of the parts she had let him touch so far. She had let him touch a lot of her! She was trying to teach him how to turn her on. Well, she was always trying to teach you something or learn something; that was Hermione. But when she talked about needing to learn about each other's bodies, what a turn on! Only Hermione would make-out like it was a scientific experiment. Except, when you did it gently enough and got to the right spots, the scientist would disappear and the passionate girl/woman, would appear. Of course, these moments always ended with, "Well, that worked! We have to do that again!" She said the same thing when something turned Ron on. He knew that he was ready at any moment, but Hermione had everything in compartments. If he was not an idiot, which was hard sometimes, and complimented her and was gentle, then usually, at the end of the day, she was ready for some serious snogging and "learning." This whole idea of having to get really good at sex intrigued Ron. If she was going to approach sex with the same passion that she approached everything else, Ron thought that learning with her was going to be, well, typical Hermione: exhausting, but a lot of fun.

Ginny was still trying to absorb all that she had learned that day. She had a copy of the outline too, if just so she could understand what Harry was saying. She was going to have to learn about this, if she was going to understand Harry. She ought to feel relieved that Harry had spent so much time looking at her dot on the Hogwarts map, and she did, sort of, but that was before all of those letters from the other witches came. 'I'm still just a girlfriend,' she thought. 'I could still lose him.'

Harry was just trying to go over the outline and make sure he was telling the story the way that they wanted it told. He was very grateful to Hermione for making the outline, and he was glad that Ginny knew everything as well. The last days, really the last year, had been very hard on her. She was very uptight about something or everything, he couldn't be sure which.

Once he thought that everyone was assembled and ready, Harry started, "I'm not sure if we have won this war, because of the Death Eaters that are still out there. The defeat of Tom Riddle is the most important victory in this long war, and I hope it will make final victory possible. We want to tell you what Hermione, Ron and I have been doing during the last year, and how we came to this point. We are not going to tell you everything. There is not enough time and some of what we were dealing with is very dark magic. We do not want to go into any detail on the dark magic part. I'm not sure if anybody knows everything, even Dumbledore, although he probably knew more than anyone."

Harry started with the battle at the Ministry. When he told them about the prophesy, Neville looked at Harry, and Harry said, "Yes, Neville, the prophesy could have applied to you. When Riddle tried to kill me, I became the object of the prophesy, destined to do what the prophesy said. Dumbledore tried to prepare me for this task."

Harry went into the tasks that Dumbledore had given him and the insights into Riddle's life. He told them that they had to destroy objects before they could kill Riddle, but avoided telling them what the objects were. He told them that Dumbledore was hurt trying to destroy one of them. Harry went into the bargain Dumbledore had with Snape and how Snape was supposed to kill Dumbledore. Harry was asked if he was sure of this part of the story, and Harry told them that he saw Snape's memories and could share them with a couple of the people there if they needed to see them. Harry realized that if he was ever going to get Snape's name cleared entirely, he would have to share those memories.

Harry told the group that Dumbledore had warned him that if Riddle ever found out what he, Ron and Hermione were trying to do, there would be big problem. So last summer they set out to try to finish the task of finding the objects and destroying them.

He told them about how they had tracked the locket to the Ministry, but did not tell them how many problems the locket had caused afterward. He told them about Godric's Hollow and the snake but avoided talking about the Hallows. He told them about the visions he had been seeing, giving them some insight into how he had known what Riddle was doing. He told them nothing about Ron's leaving but did explain about the silver doe in the forest and Ron saving his life and destroying the locket. He glossed over most of what happened at Malfoy Manor, although he did mention, in passing, that Hermione had been tortured. He felt that others had to know that it was not just Harry who had suffered.

Harry told them about their escape and about Dobby's death. He described how they found out that one of the objects was at Gringotts. He spent a little more time than necessary on Gringotts; it was just such a great story to tell.

Harry said, "Then Voldemort knew what we were doing. I could tell that he knew and was very upset and angry. The last two objects that needed to be destroyed, as far as he or I knew, were the snake and one other object that was at Hogwarts. Neville took care of the snake, and that was critical to getting rid of Riddle/Voldemort, thank you."

Neville said, "You asked me to kill the snake, and when the sword of Gryffindor was put in my hand, I did what you asked. We all trusted you, Harry."

"There is a sad story about how the other object was destroyed, that we will not get into here," Harry said. "After that happened, Ron, Hermione and I went to the Shrieking Shack, because that was where Voldemort was. The snake was there, but so was Snape. Voldemort told the snake to kill Snape, and before he died, Snape gave me some memories. I left Ron and Hermione and went to use Professor Dumbledore's Pensive to see what they contained.

"Professor Snape had information that will clear him and make you know that he was a hero in this struggle. He also had some information that I was not supposed to know before the end.

By the time Voldemort tried to kill me as an infant, he had done so much killing that his soul was very unstable. A piece of his soul came loose, and it attached itself to the only living thing in the room, me. My mother's sacrifice saved me. But even after we had gotten rid of all the other objects, there was going to be that one piece of Voldemort attached to me. As long as that was alive, as long as I was alive, Riddle, Voldemort could not be killed. That must be why Dumbledore did not think he could tell me. How do you tell someone that, to save the world, you have to let yourself be killed?"

"Oh, Harry!" cried Mrs. Weasley. She had heard that part of the story before, but it still horrified her. Most of the people in the room just stared at Harry, stunned.

"So, then I knew what I had to do," said Harry. He grabbed Ginny's hand, took a deep breath, and said, "Give me a minute."

The room was totally quiet, most of the people looking at Harry, a few looking down deep in thought. Harry was shaking; Ginny and some of the other people had tears in their eyes.

Harry found his strength return to him, thanks to Ginny's encouraging presence. "Well, I threw the Invisibility Cloak over me and went to do what I had to do. I saw Neville, on my way out, and told him about the snake. I walked by Ginny and almost lost it right there. I'm not sure I could have made it, but Dumbledore made it possible for my parents, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black to be with me, as more than ghosts. They called me brave; I didn't feel brave. I felt terrified. But I knew what I had to do if everybody I loved was going to have a chance to live, to be free of Voldemort. So I found Riddle and let him kill me."

Harry sat down, and said, "I'm sorry; it's hard to talk about this part." After a short time, he got back up and resumed. "I found myself in some sort of halfway place. Dumbledore met me there, and explained some things. He told me that I had the choice to go on or go back. It was so peaceful and I knew there would be a lot of pain if I came back, but we would have a much better chance of getting rid of Voldemort if I came back.

Normally, the choice would be to go on to whatever exists beyond death or become a ghost. But Voldemort had taken my blood to regenerate his body, the blood that held the powerful charm that my mother created with her sacrifice. Dumbledore said that as long as my blood lived in Voldemort, I could live, if that's what I chose to do. I'm not sure if I can explain it any better than that, or if I even understand it more than that. But, in the end, I had to choose, and it wasn't as easy as you might think.

It was so peaceful and I knew there would be a lot of pain if I went came back, but we would have a much better chance of getting rid of Voldemort if I came back."

Hagrid was crying. "It was terrible seeing him there. Voldemort cursed him again and again and he flew up into the air. He did the Crustaceous Curse on you, Harry."

Harry said, "Well, I decided there would be an advantage if Riddle thought I was dead. The Prophet was correct; Narcissa Malfoy checked to see if I was alive and lied for me. When Neville killed the snake, I put the Invisibility Cloak over me and you all know the rest."

Harry sat down. Everybody was quiet. Arthur asked Harry, "Do you feel you can answer questions? You don't have to if you don't want to."

Harry said, "I'll try."

Bill asked, "What kind of dark magic are we dealing with?"

Harry replied, "I'd rather not answer that question. Dumbledore felt that the fewer people that knew what Riddle did the better. We've decided that we agree with that."

Kingsley asked, "Do Ron and Hermione know?"

Harry said, "They know everything I know. They have been full partners in all that has been done."

"Were you really dead?" asked Molly, her face still wet with tears.

"I could have been," said Harry. "I know that the part of Voldemort that was in me was killed." He went on to describe the malformed body that had appeared with him in that half-way place and how it could neither move forward nor backward. It would just be stuck there forever.

Harry continued, "But Voldemort, Tom Riddle, is no longer there. For all of my life, I could feel some sort of presence there, sometimes just a presence but lots of times much worse. The presence is gone! He is gone!"

"Do you think Dumbledore knew you would survive?" asked Minerva McGonagall, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Harry looked at her, thinking for a moment about the fact that Dumbledore wanted him to unite the Deathly Hallows, so that he could be the Master of Death. Was that because he wasn't a hundred percent sure that the blood connection was enough? Feeling humbled at the effort Dumbledore had put into ensuring his survival, Harry tentatively said, "I think he hoped I would survive, but I don't think he was sure. I definitely thought I wouldn't. Maybe if I'd known I could live through it, it wouldn't have worked?"

No one seemed to move for several minutes.

Kingsley eventually cleared his throat and asked if all of the DA members could come around him, and he told them, "The Auror department at the Ministry is in terrible shape, and we want to recruit as many of you for the Auror department as possible. How many of you want to become an Auror? Harry?"

Harry nodded yes.

"Ron, Hermione, you were Harry's partners. Could we get you to join him?"

Hermione declined, and Ron said that he was not ready to make a decision yet.

Neville indicated that he would; that he was helping at Hogwarts now and eventually wanted to come back, but he would be an Auror, for now, if that was what was needed. Hanna Abbott was holding Neville's hand, but she answered she was not going to join.

In the end, Terry Boot, Cho Chang, Michael Corner, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Seamus Finnigan, Anthony Goldstein, Ernie Macmillan also promised to consider starting in the autumn. Padma and Parvati Patil said that they would have to ask their parents, but if they could, they also wanted to join. Lavender had to be released from the infirmary to be at the meeting. The special wizard was with her, and she seemed to be in a lot of pain. She needed to go back to the infirmary, but thought she would be OK by September and really wanted to be an Auror and catch the rest of the Death Eaters. Alicia Spinnet was the other member of Dumbledore's Army there; she had also been wounded, but not as severely as Lavender, at least physically, but she indicated that she never wanted to fight again. Later on, Harry would find out that Alicia would take a few years to get over the battle, and mentally, she was always a little fragile.

Teddy had been sleeping through most of the presentation, but he started to stir as they talked, and Ginny went to a corner of the room, changed him, and started to nurse him. Harry was sitting down, and very few questions were being asked. People in the room were mostly talking to each other or to Ron and Hermione. While she was nursing, Ginny went back and sat next to Harry, sitting so they were lightly touching.

Neville and Hanna came over, and Hanna asked, "How did this happen?"

"When his grandmother gave Teddy to Harry, I tried to feed him with a bottle, but he didn't want to take milk from a bottle. From the way he was acting, we could tell he wanted to nurse. When I realized that I could get a magical bra and nurse him myself, I just thought it would be a good idea. What is going on between you and Neville?"

Neville answered, "We are going to get married in a couple of weeks."

Ginny asked, "Why so soon?"

Hanna looked embarrassed. "We're starting a family. About Christmas."

"I was sleeping in The Room of Requirement most of the time, and Hanna came in and slept with me. She was-is working at the Leaky Cauldron. She is going to inherit it and a couple of times a week, when the Floo network was not being watched, she could Floo to see me, and we gave each other news," said Neville.

"You gave each other more than just news if you are expecting a baby," said Ginny, with a grin. Neville and Hanna looked at each other guiltily. Ginny said, "Is that why you are interested in Teddy? Do you want to hold him?" Hanna held Teddy and she and Ginny spent a little time talking about babies.

People started to leave the room, most of them thanking Harry, many of them putting a hand on his shoulder or shaking his hand. Finally, just the Weasley family was left. Ginny was done nursing Teddy, and Molly took Teddy so that Ginny could give Harry a big hug and kiss and walk with him up to their dorm.

Harry was very relieved that the presentation was over. He hoped that he would not have to do anything like that again. It was good, walking back to the dorm hand in hand with Ginny. Being with Ginny was, at least for now, the new normal, and it felt very good indeed. A couple of times he stopped, pulled Ginny into him and gently kissed her.

Ginny was so proud of Harry. She'd listened all day to Harry, Ron and Hermione give her the full story of what had happened. Harry was more of a hero than anyone could have imagined. He had chosen life; he had chosen her. This was like her dreams, her Happily Ever After ending, working its way out, somehow, in real life. Ginny was feeling like she was the luckiest person in the world to have HER Harry with her.


	7. Ch 7, Black & Potter Vaults

**Ch 7The Black and Potter Vaults**

_Harry stood there stunned. He knew he had not asked Ginny to marry him,…_

Harry woke at about 7:00 AM on Friday May 8, 1998. Teddy was stirring, and by the time Harry had changed his nappies, he was ready to nurse. The rest of the morning passed in what had become their normal routine, but today for the first time, Ginny was going to leave Teddy with Rosemary and Andromeda. Andromeda was doing a little better and was eager to get back to taking care of Teddy, although she certainly wasn't ready to do it full time quite yet.

With Teddy thus cared for, Ginny travelled with Harry to visit the Black and Potter vaults, deep within the caverns below Gringotts. For Harry, this was to be a trip of discovery. He had never been in the Black Vault. Neither had he seen the Potter vault since becoming adult at 17, which meant that this would be the first visit where he would have access to all the money and treasures that were there.

Harry and Ginny were met at the bank by the young goblin who had received the Sword of Gryffindor during the news conference. The goblin introduced himself as Grabhook.

"Are you of any relation to Griphook?" Harry asked, noticing a strong resemblance between the two.

"He was my father," Grabhook said.

"I am so grateful for his help in getting one of the objects that we had to have to kill Tom Riddle," said Harry. "I hope he is well. Is there anything I can do for him?"

"He's dead," said Grabhook, with a grimace.

"He's dead? Why?" asked Harry.

"He was in the room when Voldemort was told about the robbery," Grabhook said.

"Oh, Riddle was furious, killed everybody in the room," Harry said, his mind replaying the scene. He wished he could make it stop. All the visions of those Riddle slaughtered in his quest for power now flashing in his head

"No wizard is ever in trouble for killing a goblin," Grabhook said with a hint of anger in his voice.

"That's wrong!" Harry replied, hitting one hand in another to emphasize how he felt.

"It is the way of wizards," Grabhook said. "There's no need to talk about it any further."

But Harry replied again, "It's still wrong!"

By this time, they had arrived at the Black vault. Some of the heirlooms were creepy, reminiscent of the Black family's dark leanings, and Harry arranged for some of them to be sold. Also, there was some property issues associated with the Black holdings that needed to be taken care of. By late morning, the contents of the Black vault had been assessed and the needed paperwork for the handling of the assets dealt with, allowing the couple to be back at Hogwarts by 11:00, just in time for Ginny to nurse Teddy.

Teddy was fussing and crying irritably in Andromeda's arms when Ginny arrived, and she rushed to him as soon as she heard.

"What's the matter, Teddy?" she asked the infant, though she looked to Andromeda for the answer.

"He's been fussing like this most of the morning," the older woman lamented, looking a bit frazzled around the edges.

Ginny nodded as she took the baby from her and held him in her arms. Instantly, Teddy's tears cleared. He graced her with a toothless baby-smile before turning his face towards her chest and beginning to root around for her breast.

"Maybe he's hungry?" Ginny suggested as she settled herself in a chair in the common room and prepared to nurse.

Teddy latched on with such vigour, she gasped.

"Yes, that must have been it," Andromeda agreed, as Harry looked on.

They all had lunch while Ginny fed the baby, with Harry bringing Ginny's food to her, and by 12:00 PM they were back at Gringotts, on their way down in the cart, this time to visit the Potter vault.

Harry and Ginny were again met by Grabhook. Indicating another goblin with him, he said, "This is Hammering, my father's brother."

"I am so sorry your brother was killed," Harry said.

"It's a part of being a goblin," said Hammering.

"It's still wrong," Harry insisted.

"Why would you care?" said Hammering. "We are just goblins."

"Goblins are people too, or intelligent beings at any rate. It's not fair that wizards do not treat you as equals!" Harry replied. Hammering looked at Harry suspiciously but did not say anything else.

The cart pulled to a stop, allowing Harry and Ginny to step out. Harry inserted his little golden key and the great wheeled door rolled away, revealing the full contents of the vault beyond. Just by looking, they could tell that assessing the contents of the Potter vault and what would be needed to settle everything was going to take longer than tending to the Black vault had.

There were deeds to quite of bit of property that seemed to be located around both Godric's Hollow and Ottery St. Catchpole. There was also a list of properties that had previously been owned by the Potters but had been sold over the years to various poorer wizards. As Harry and Ginny studied it, they discovered there was a pattern to the list and how the property had changed hands. Initially, each property had been rented to a young couple for a modest sum of money. If the couple had children, the property was eventually sold to them for a very reasonable price. If the couple did not have any children or moved away, the property was then rented to another couple, and the pattern was repeated. According to the dates of the leases and the sales, there seemed to usually be about four couples being helped at any one time, although the number varied a little. Nothing, however, had been done about any of the properties since Harry's parents had been killed, almost seventeen years ago.

The couple studied the information on the properties as carefully as they could and discovered, while looking at a map of those in the Ottery St. Catchpole area, that the property the Weasleys lived on was one of these properties, and that Ginny's parents only were renting a couple of acres. They were not renting the buildings, just some land, so Harry asked Ginny, "How did your parents build the house, shed and chicken coop? They are all sort of unusual."

"Everything that I saw being built or changed was done with magic. Dad and Mum did the best they could to pick up wood and brick and other stuff that they would enlarge or transfigure into parts of the house or out-buildings. But I don't think anything they have was built like I think Muggle buildings usually are. Also, they were always changing them while I was growing up," Ginny replied.

Harry could believe that. He knew, from his many visits to the Burrow, that the house was a strange structure, and he could never tell quite how many stories it had or where all of the rooms were in relation to one another. They always seemed to sort of appear as you went up the stairs.

The property the house stood on, which included the orchard and the pond, was part of a much larger section of property that started at a road across from the Longbottom estate and went out from there almost twice as far as the Weasley house. According to the deeds and the map, Harry owned that entire piece of property, although there were a couple of additional houses on it with tenant farmers. There were also still a number of significantly sized parcels nearby that he held the mortgages on.

"I can't take rent from your parents after all they have done for me," Harry told her.

Ginny looked at him with a questioning expression.

"What I need to do," he continued, thinking aloud," is to give all of the property that your family has been using to your parents, free and clear. And those other properties nearby?"

Ginny nodded as he pointed to them on the map, wondering what he had in mind.

"There is plenty of room there for more houses on or near that property they are using. We could give parts of it to other family members or friends," he suggested. "Would that be okay, do you think?"

"Yes," Ginny agreed, once again warmed by Harry's big heart. "I think it would be nice to have a little suburb of Ottery St. Catchpole, if Mum and Dad agree."

"We'll ask them," Harry promised, and they turned their attention from the real estate to the other assets in the vault.

Finally they came to a variety of jewellery that had been set aside in a modest-sized wooden box on a shelf. Inside, they found a matched set of rings that included a beautiful engagement ring, a masculine wizard's ring, and beautiful, very old wedding rings. There was also a parchment in the box that gave a list of all of the Potters that had worn these rings, going back over 350 years. There was a second parchment with the rings that said:

**"If you are thinking of giving these rings to each other, they come with a blessing and a warning.**

**Every couple who has worn these rings has been blessed with children to carry on the Potter name. The Potter fortune has increased, and all of the Potters have been generous because of their good fortune.**

**With wealth comes the obligation to be generous. Do not curse yourselves by being miserly.**

**If you want the blessing, you must promise to love each other in sickness as well as in health, in bad times as well as in good times, through sorrow as well as joy, knowing as you promise to love each other that there will be sickness and sorrow and hard times."**

Harry looked at Ginny and she back at him.

"I guess the parchment is trying to tell us that we will not live Happily Ever After," Ginny said, looking carefully at the rings. She glanced at Harry, who was also studying them, wondering how she could get the engagement ring on her finger. Was this her chance? She always though you could get away with practically anything if you had enough guts, and damn it, she did want Harry, more than anything.

Harry waited a short while for everything to sink in. He was about to put the box back, when Ginny motioned for the small inner container that contained the rings, so he gave her the little box. She took the man's ring out, looked at it and put it on Harry's hand. "It looks really good on you, Harry," said Ginny with a big smile on her face. She then took the engagement ring out, looked at it and gave it to Harry. Ginny put the tip of her ring finger into the engagement ring. She gave Harry a look that said, "Put it on." Harry looked at her, trying to figure out what to do.

Harry had really not planned on asking Ginny to marry him right now. It was not that he did not want to get married, and in all honesty, he held on to the rings longer than he would have if he had simply dismissed any thought of asking her. He was still trying to figure out how to handle it, when Ginny got an impatient look on her face as she continued to hold her hand with the ring just started on the finger, so Harry pushed it the rest of the way onto the finger, feeling concerned that this would start the most serious discussion yet on getting engaged and maybe really getting married August 11th.

Ginny jumped up and down, gave Harry a very long and passionate kiss and said, "Oh, Harry, yes, yes, a thousand times yes! No Happily Ever After's. I'll love you and be by your side through anything. Thank you for asking! Thank you for the ring! I love you! I love you! I love you!" She followed this by another long, passionate kiss, and then looking at the ring, said sort of wistfully, "Engaged. I can't believe it. Oh Harry, I'm so happy! Thank you!"

Harry stood there stunned. He knew that he had not asked Ginny to marry him, certainly not formally, although they had talked as if they knew they were going to get married. Ginny had all but assumed that they were going to get married on her birthday, and Harry really was willing. He DID want to marry Ginny, and the Ministry had SORT OF told them that it would be better if they were married August 11 of THIS year.

Then there was Ginny's temper to contend with. Harry had just defeated the most powerful wicked wizard in the world, but telling Ginny to take the engagement ring off was much more terrifying that walking towards Riddle to be killed. Harry decided that being engaged was vastly easier than any other alternative that he could come up with.

Ginny, in truth, had not planned this, but when she saw the beautiful rings in their box, inspiration of the moment had taken over and everything just happened. When Harry put the ring on her finger, she was not about to let the moment pass. She really was unbelievably excited but also thought that she needed to stay vocally excited, so that Harry could not say much. As they left the vault, Ginny was also a little stunned that she had gotten away with saying "yes" to Harry, when he really had not proposed. Well, however it happened, she was engaged to Harry Potter! 'Take that, all of you witches who want him! He's mine!' she thought, relishing her victory. She was surprised by how relieved she felt too. Those witches no longer represented as much of a threat.

They found Bill and Michael working together, and Harry lost no time in going over the property and what he wanted to do with it, although he said nothing about the wedding rings he'd found nor the engagement. He was still feeling stunned and was not quite ready to say anything yet.

Bill looked over the parchments and understood immediately what Harry and Ginny were trying to do, though not so immediately how to do it.

"This is going to take a little time, Harry," Bill warned. "Can you stay awhile?"

"Yes, we can stay," Harry assured him.

Michael Appledorn looked up from what he was doing. "Are you going to need me for this, Bill? There's still that stack of documents in the next office we were going through. I'd like to continue that if you don't need me."

Bill assured him, "You go ahead while I take care of this for Harry. We'll call you if we need you."

Michael nodded and stepped out to the office next door, while Bill worked on the associated real estate forms.

Harry watched as Michael left the room. "Bill, does Michael need a house? Would he like to live near the Weasleys do you think?"

Bill looked up, considering Harry's question thoughtfully. "You know, this may be just what Michael and Rosemary need. Other things are in the works too, but let me work on this for you."

Ginny watched the two men as they talked, totally absorbed in conversations about parcel plots and land markers and property rights, totally ignoring her. Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore. Holding her hand with the ring out in front of Bill she blurted out, "Harry and I are engaged!"

Bill looked questioningly at Harry.

Harry raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders. "The ring came with these parchments," he explained and he handed Bill the parchments they'd found in the box, giving him time to read them.

Bill looked at Harry again. "You asked her?" Bill said. "You got down on your knees and proposed?"

"Well, not exactly," said Harry awkwardly, unsure of how to tell Bill that he hadn't asked her at all. "But she said yes!"

Bill grinned and said, "Hell, Harry, she's been saying 'yes' to the idea of marrying Harry Potter since she's been five years old. That's not really the question. Did you ASK her?"

"Well, not exactly," Harry repeated, looking at Ginny. She was getting, well Harry was not sure if she was getting embarrassed or mad, but he was not really eager to find out. "I DO want to marry Ginny though, and I thought that the Ministry really wanted us to be married on Ginny's seventeenth birthday."

"Ginny Weasley, what kind of a stunt did you pull this time?" Bill said, not in an unkindly voice.

"I'm engaged," Ginny said, pretending to be innocent and stating the obvious, thinking she was maybe on shakier ground with her favourite brother than she was comfortable with at the moment.

"We're engaged, Bill," Harry reiterated. "The Ministry wants us, needs us, to get married on Ginny's seventieth birthday, so we're engaged." Harry looked at Ginny and squeezed her hand. She squeezed back and gave him a relieved look, for backing her up.

Bill took a deep breath, looked at both of them, and asked Harry, "Did you ask Dad?"

"Yes, sort of," Harry said. "I had his permission. His worry was how to tell your mother."

"Oh! Boggarts!" said Bill, who looked at the ceiling, and then stared at the couple. "Dad was worried or terrified? You both know, well no, I don't think Harry has ever seen Mum in full rage. Dragon fire! Wow!"

Bill then sat with his eyes closed for a minute or two, Harry and Ginny awaiting his final assessment of the situation. Ginny hadn't really thought about her mother's reaction and had to admit that she was nervous. Finally, Bill opened his eyes. "The Ministry urgently needs the money, and this is the best thing that could possible happen for them. We just have to find a way to tell Mum. Merlin!

I will see you tonight for dinner, and Fleur will be with me, maybe she can help to defuse things. Go to the Ministry and tell Dad before you go back to Hogwarts. Maybe I can explain to the family about the estate problems and how you marrying Ginny will help the Ministry get urgently needed money, and maybe that will keep Mum from exploding. Maybe, if we are VERY lucky."

"Thank you, Bill," said Ginny, a big smile on her face which hid a growing terror of her mother's reaction. If anyone could soothe her mother's wrath, it was Bill and sometimes her father. "I'd hoped you could help us keep Mum from being too upset."

"Ginny," said Bill quite forcefully, looking somewhat concerned. "I'm upset. I'd be even more upset if we were not fighting all of these money and estate problems. You're only 16! You ought to have to wait at least until you graduate from Hogwarts. Frankly, I'm going to be delighted if Mum is just upset. I'm concerned she is going to be FURIOUS."

Ginny nodded, looking warily at Bill.

"I'll see what I can do," he promised. "But in the meantime, _go_ talk to Dad? I can finish up here on my own, Harry."

"Thanks, Bill. We'll go speak to him right away," Harry assured him.

Feeling rather Chastised, Harry and Ginny left for the Ministry without delay.

Arthur was in his new office, talking to a couple of people when they got there. He called them in as soon as they'd finished and asked, "What brings you here?"

Ginny cautiously held out her hand and showed her dad her ring. Then Harry showed Arthur the parchments.

"I thought I might ask Ginny after she graduated from Hogwarts, or if I asked her sooner, we would not get married until she graduated. But all of these estate problems seem to be pushing us ahead a year," Harry told Arthur.

Arthur looked at Harry, then at Ginny, then back at Harry and said, "I would like to talk to you alone, Harry. Ginny, please wait outside the office."

Ginny was very worried by the tone of her father's voice, although it was a small comfort that he hadn't called her Ginevra. She could argue with her mother, but her father gave so few orders that she really could not, in good conscience, defy him. She was still intimidated by her father, something she supposed would never change, so she left the office to wait outside the door and began to pace. She looked at the ring on her finger as she walked back and forth. 'There is no way they are going to get this ring off my finger' she thought. 'I'll wait until I'm 17, but they had better not make me wait any longer.'

Back inside the office, Arthur asked Harry, "How did this happen?"

"The rings were a part of the Potter estate," Harry explained. "I showed them to Ginny just when I found them there, and as I was getting ready to put them away, she took the box and put the man's ring on my finger. Then she held her hand out like she wanted me to put the engagement ring on her finger in exchange. She had that intimidating look, and I was not quite sure how to tell her I did not want to quite yet, well, I'm not sure what I wanted. There is no question that I eventually want to marry Ginny. Maybe if we had sat there talking I would have asked her, but everything happened so fast. So, I did not really know of a way to not put the ring on her finger, so I did, and before I knew it, she was thanking me for asking and saying how happy she was that we were engaged and kissing me."

Arthur laughed at the young man's rambling explanation and said, with a twinkle in his eye, "You are not the first man to be surprised by one of the Prewett women, and I was not either. So what do you want to do now?"

"I think that by far the easiest thing is to marry Ginny," Harry answered. "If the Ministry could use us to be married on her 17th birthday, that's probably what we should do."

Arthur smiled. "Well, Harry, getting married is not really such tough duty. Molly and I got married early. Welcome to the family, son. We've thought of you as a son and loved you as a son for some time now. Feel free to call me 'dad,' if you want. Ginny is probably going crazy. We had better let her back in."

Ginny walked in and warily looked at Harry and her father, who had taken the grin off of his face.

Arthur looked calmly at his daughter. "Well, it looks like we have a wedding to plan, and we are getting another son in the family. I cannot complain about your choice of a husband, Ginny."

Ginny went over and gave her father a big hug. "Thank you, Daddy," she said from within his arms. But the safety of her father's arms didn't have the calming effect they usually had. Inside, Ginny was in turmoil. Was she really getting away with this? 'Keep cool,' she thought. 'Act like this is normal. Keep cool. Potter is yours!'

Arthur looked at Harry and Ginny, suddenly getting very concerned, and said "Now…how are we going to tell Molly?"

"Bill said that he was going to come to dinner and he promised to bring Fleur along. He may have some idea," Harry told Arthur.

"I'll try to get back a little early to make sure I'm there too," Arthur assured him. "It's Friday … supposed to be the end of the work week. I think Percy should come as well. I hope Molly's not TOO upset. Oh Boy, Molly!"

"Thanks, Arthur. We appreciate it," Harry replied, answering for both himself and Ginny.

Arthur nodded. "By the way, Harry, speaking of the end of the week, the money from the first two estates really helped. We are not worrying about paying for the foreign Aurors just now. For this week and a few more I hope, with your help, we'll have the funds to cover it. Thank you!"

"You're welcome," Harry replied, as some more people came to Arthur's door. "I was glad to do it." Harry glanced at the newcomers, realizing that his future father-in-law still had business to attend to before he could leave. "We'll see you back at Hogwarts," he told him and he and Ginny showed themselves out.

Harry and Ginny got back to Hogwarts a little after 6:00 PM, to find a crying Teddy, Rosemary very frustrated and an equally frustrated Molly. Andromeda could not take seeing Teddy cry and had left in the middle of the day.

"He will not easily take milk by a bottle. He has been fussing since mid-afternoon, and we cannot do anything about it. No wonder Andromeda was at her wits' end," said Molly.

Ginny took Teddy and put him to her breast. Teddy settled right down and nursed greedily. "How does a new mother take a break from her baby if she can't leave him to drink from a bottle?" asked Ginny. "I came back for lunch!"

Molly looked at Ginny with an exasperated look, hands on her hips, and said, "Ginny dear, I had months and months of raising all of you where I had a child on my breast or my hips or next to me without a break. You decided you wanted to nurse Teddy, and for a few months at least, that responsibility is yours. I am sure we can work something out before you go back to school, but no baby can be weaned to a bottle so suddenly."

What Molly thought but did not say was, 'You wanted to be a grown up, well you are, tough it out now. Somebody ought to nurse the baby, not use those bottles some Muggle ladies seem to like.'

Teddy nursed greedily for about 15 minutes and then stayed on Ginny's breast for another 15 or so before falling asleep. He was fine while Ginny was holding him, but as soon as Ginny tried to put Teddy down, he woke up in a panic and wanted to nurse again. Teddy really did not want any food this second time, just the comfort of Ginny's breast.

Harry was watching, even holding Teddy's hand a couple of times while Teddy was nursing. "It's like the family I've never had, Ginny," Harry said.

Ginny looked at Teddy all but attached to her, Harry lovingly looking at her, and the ring on her finger, and suddenly the permanence and complexity of what she had done hit her. This 'being a mother' was not so easy, and Ginny thought back to the parchments with the rings.

Molly, for her part, noticed the rings on Harry and Ginny's hands, and both Harry and Ginny could see her looking at them with a frown on her face. Molly thought that Harry looked a little like a stunned garden gnome, although he was obviously head over heels in love with Ginny. Ginny occasionally had that smirk on her face that said she had gotten away with something, although at other times she looked really concerned and often, with Teddy, she just looked frazzled. 'She is only 16,' she thought, 'way too young.' Well, she and Arthur…, no stop, do not think about that. They are not saying anything. Molly was worried.

It was a little before 7:00 PM when Ron, Hermione, Bill, Fleur, George, Angelina, Lee, Percy, Charlie and Arthur all showed up for dinner. Arthur pulled Molly aside for a brief conversation before they sat down to eat, but Molly did not try to find out why all of the family was there, although she had a concerned look on her face throughout dinner.

Toward the end of the family meal, Bill started to explain the problems with the estates and how only Harry could break the curses. He finally went into the one possible solution: Harry and Ginny getting married on or shortly after her 17th birthday. Everybody was looking at Molly, waiting for her to explode.

When Bill was finished, he looked at Harry and Ginny, who were holding hands under the table. Harry finally pulled Ginny's hand up and put it on the table, and she showed everybody the ring.

Everybody looked at the ring and then looked at Molly. She had a grim look on her face, but she just stared at the couple.

The air had gotten very tense.

No one said anything.

Everyone continued to look at Molly.

Molly finally said, "Ginevra Weasley, WHAT DID YOU DO?"

In a small voice, Ginny said, "I said yes."

"I put the ring on her finger," Harry volunteered, not wanting Ginny to take all the blame. If and when Molly ever learned that Ginny had said yes before Harry had proposed, Harry expected there would be … he wasn't sure what there would be, but he surely did not want to find out.

"The estate issues are really pushing this, and we cannot get married until she turns seventeen anyway. I'll be eighteen, and I have plenty of money so I can support her, and I love her, and I'm sorry if we are rushing this and please don't be mad," Harry said, the words tumbling out.

"Who asked whom?" Molly said, looking right at Ginny.

"Ginny did not ask me!" Harry said, squeezing Ginny's hand. "The first word she said was 'yes.'"

Molly looked at the couple, then the rest of the table, then the couple again, for what seemed to be hours, although it was really only two minutes. Finally, Molly said, "Are you really talking about getting married? This August 11th?"

Harry and Ginny nodded their heads.

"And that ring means?" Molly asked, knowing full well what the answer was.

"I'm engaged," Ginny said. "It's part of a set that includes wedding rings."

"That's what I thought it was," Molly said with a sigh. Looking around at her terrified family she asked, "Am I really that scary? You all look scared to death of what I have to say."

And Ron, bless him, said, "You're really scary when you're mad, Mum. All of us boys were scared of you yelling at us when we were younger. We're still scared of you."

Charlie piped in, "It's easier working with dragons."

After a little more silence, Molly answered, "I'm not happy. If it were anyone but you, Harry, it would be easy to get mad, furious. I can't do that with you. How can I get mad at you for loving Ginny?"

Then she turned to Ginny. "Ginny, you have no idea what you are getting yourself into. But you picked up the responsibility for Harry's godson Teddy and took to it like it was the most natural thing in the world. How can I get mad at you for loving Harry and Teddy? I'm not happy, you're too young, but I'll not stand in your way."

"Thanks, Mum," said Harry. "I love Ginny, but I have fallen in love with the entire Weasley family too."

Molly's face lit up at that. While she'd never wanted to take Lily's place, she'd certainly done all she could to give him a mother-figure. Now she'd actually be able to call him "son" and clearly he felt comfortable calling her "mum." Perhaps things weren't so bad after all.

From that day on Harry called Arthur and Molly "mum" and "dad." The dinner conversation started again, with Harry and Ginny sharing the parchments that came with the rings and showing off the wedding rings.

When everybody was finally done eating (including Ron), George stood up and said, "All of the boys need to get together and talk to Harry. Come on, Harry." Harry had no idea what he was facing with all of Ginny's brothers ganging up on him. George nodded to Arthur that he should come along, which he did. When they were by themselves at the other end of the Great Hall, George said, "I won! I knew it! Rita got her so mad, Harry didn't have a chance!"

"She is one determined witch!" said Bill. "Give me some credit for coming in second!"

"I thought they would get engaged this summer," said Charlie, sounding disappointed.

"Blimey, I thought Harry would wait at least until Christmas to ask her," said Ron.

"Who said Harry asked Ginny?" said George slyly, laughing. It was good to hear George laugh and be mischievous again. "Out with it, Harry, did you ask her, did she ask you, or did she get the ring on her finger before you knew what had happened?"

"What is this all about?" said a confused Harry, who was immediately suspicious of George's questions.

"Well," said George, bursting into laughter again, "when Ginny saw that article by Rita Skeeter, and when she saw that reference to 'poor little Ginny Weasley,' I thought she was going to explode. Then she got that look that I know too well, like when I pulled something over on her, and she was going to get back at me. Bat Bogy Hexes are mild compared to what she can do when she is really mad. And I could see she was going to land you, and land you quickly! Ron and Charlie were there, and I took them aside and we bet on when she would get engaged."

"You what?!" said Harry.

"Then we asked Bill and Percy. We all sort of expected Percy to pick the longest time, but Bill's pick was a surprise to me. Meanwhile, we also wagered on who would ask whom. Out with it, Harry, did you ask her, did she ask you, or did she get the ring on her finger before you knew what had happened?"

Harry was smiling and sort of shaking his head. "I was showing her the rings and getting ready to put them back. She reached for them and put the one ring on my hand. Then she gave me the other ring and gave me a look that said, 'put it on my hand.'" As Harry was saying this, he was holding out his hand like Ginny had done, "You know the look that both your mother and sister get that says, 'You'd better do what I want you to do or you are in big trouble.' So I put the ring on her finger and she was jumping up and down and kissing me and thanking me."

Harry really didn't want to say that Ginny already had the ring partly on her finger. He was beginning to be embarrassed enough that he had not asked Ginny.

"I knew it!" said George. "I knew it! Well, Harry, as far as I am concerned, all you have to do to be welcomed into our family is to propose to Ginny. Down on your knees, formal, like you should have done, but in front of the whole family."

"On your knee, mushy formal, Oh Merlin," said Charlie, chuckling.

"If you're going to be a part of this family, Son, you'd better do what your brothers tell you to do," said Arthur, laughing along with his boys.

All of the brothers pushed Harry back to the table where the girls were looking at them. Meanwhile, many of the people in the Great Hall were watching, and other people seemed to be joining them. There was going to be a large crowd for Harry's proposal.

Harry decided that he had better get it over and got down on one knee and said, "Ginny, will you marry me?"

"Not Good Enough!"

"Not Formal Enough!"

"You Can Do Better Than That!"

"Reject, Do Over."

All of the boys were kidding Harry at once.

Harry was almost as red as Ginny's hair. She had a victorious smile on her face that was a mile wide. Fleur, Hermione and Angelina were laughing as hard as the boys, and even Molly was smiling.

"My Fair Lady, My Princess, My Happily-Ever-After-Girl, I have slain the wicked wizard and have come to ask the fairest lady in the land for her hand in marriage. Will you spend the rest of your days with me?"

Ginny looked at her brothers and said, "Is that good enough?"

"Your call, sister dear," said George pompously.

Ginny gingerly handed Teddy to Fleur. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Fair Prince," Ginny said, as she pushed Harry down to the floor and kissed him, really snogged him good. Everyone in the room clapped and cheered and laughed.

"Welcome to the family, bro," said George, giving Harry a hand up once his sister had stopped mauling him, and one by one all the brothers gave him a big hug and welcomed him into the family.

Molly quietly said to Arthur, "I thought he already asked her."

"Ah, yes, dear, but the boys insisted Harry propose publicly," Arthur improvised, covering Harry's lie of omission.

Bill brought out an envelope of parchments and asked, "Does anyone mind if we make this engagement formal? It will make my job with the estates easier."

"No problem," Harry said.

"Great!" Ginny exclaimed.

They both signed the documents in about four places.

"Ginny's only sixteen, so you have to sign too," Bill said to his parents. He brought the parchments over to where Arthur and Molly were sitting.

Arthur signed. Molly looked at Bill and whispered, "Is this what I think it is?"

"Yes, these are formal betrothal papers, as binding as a marriage. They don't know what it is," Bill whispered. "It makes my job much easier. Have a wedding August 11th or so."

Molly glared at Bill. "You give Ginny a hint that she's all but married and I'll have your head," she whispered. "She's way too eager to have Harry in her knickers already."

"Not a word, Mum, but please sign the papers," Bill said. Molly continued to glare at Bill but signed the parchment.

Shortly after this exchange, Arthur asked Harry, "What do you know about prophesies about yourself? Prophesies beyond defeating Voldemort?"

"Tom Riddle," Harry promptly corrected. "Call him Tom Riddle. It makes him a common human, not the 'Lord of Something.'"

Harry then looked quizzically at his future father-in-law. "Prophesies about after I defeated Riddle? I thought I would be dead. No one said anything about after defeating Riddle."

"There is something big going on, Harry, and you are right in the middle of it," Arthur said, feeling bad about placing even more burden on the young man's shoulders. "Al VanLente, he is head of the International Aurors Association, the group that is helping us, he's a big wig in the International Association of Witches and Wizards, and he is really concerned about you and keeping you safe, because of the prophesies. I don't understand it, but somehow that you defeated Riddle and how you defeated him has changed some things."

"I'm just glad I'm alive," a slightly astonished Harry said. He'd just finished with one prophesy that nearly got him and everyone he loved killed. He wasn't ready for another one.

"Even the engagement, Son," Arthur said, pondering Harry. "Al Van asked me before I left what had changed with you, and when I said that you and Ginny were engaged. He nodded and said, 'Oh, that may explain it,' without ever telling me what 'it' was. Bill said that Kreacher said, just before they parted, that something had changed, something I guess good, something that made Bill and Kreacher's job easier. Kreacher said Bill is your brother-in-love now, I guess, even before you are married. Not in-law but in-love, and that will make a difference in allowing Bill to work on the estate."

Harry had no idea how to respond to this remark. His whole early life with the Dursleys' had been completely without love, but conversely his experience with the Weasleys' had shown him so much love. He was fine with being Bill's brother-in-love, but how that made estate issues easier was a total mystery.

Arthur looked at Harry, then Ginny, then back and forth a couple more times. Ginny was talking to the women, almost but not quite waving the ring around, obviously very happy. Arthur grabbed one of Harry's hands in his hands, and holding on in an intimate manner, laughed and said "Someone else is VERY happy you're alive. We all are, but one little redheaded girl in particular is more grateful than all of us. Thank you."

"Thank me?" asked Harry. "Thank you!"

Harry put his other hand on one of Arthur's hands so that both men had both hands touching, took a big breath and sigh, and with tears almost coming said, "I think I'm the happiest I've ever been. It's not going to be easy, but it's going to be all right!"

"It's not going to be easy, but with a good woman beside you it's always better," Arthur said, nodding his head in affirmation.

A little later, as they were heading up to the dorm, Ginny asked, "What was that all about? All of that with my brothers?"

Harry said, "I guess I should have read that article by Rita Skeeter. George said that when he saw you read that and get mad, he was sure we would be engaged within a couple of weeks. All of the other brothers had dates further out."

"They were taking bets on when we would get engaged?! How could they!" said Ginny indignantly.

"Then they bet on who would ask who. George had it right on. You would get a ring on your finger without me asking you," said Harry, as Ginny looked like she had gotten caught. "And since I had not said the words, they insisted that I formally propose."

Ginny kind of huffed as she replied, "Well, we both knew we were going to get married. It was nice hearing the words, though. Thank you for proposing to me in public! I loved it and I love you."

Harry answered back, "I love you too. George was right, you are one determined witch. I have a lot more respect for your father, living with your mother. I bet our kids are going to be just as terrified of you as your brothers are of your Mum."

"Little me?" said Ginny, with a smirk that left no question that she intended to be every bit as formidable as her mother. "And will it be just only our children or you as well?"

If Harry did not know he was in trouble before, he knew it now. Ginny was one formidable and determined witch. He quickly said, "Maybe not just our children. Their father isn't going to be real eager to get their mother mad at him."

Once they were up in the dormitory room, Ron and Hermione joined them. Ron looked at Harry and said, "What'd you go and do that for?"

"What?" said Harry thoroughly confused at the statement said to him.

"Ginny is my baby sister. She's not old enough," said Ron, winding up for an argument.

Ginny handed Teddy to Harry and then Looked at Ron with the, 'I'm about to explode' look that everybody knew too well. "I'm your baby sister am I? Baby?" she questioned. Then she said, in a quiet but determined voice, "Look at these," pointing to her breasts. "I'm nursing a baby with these. I've got all of the other necessary parts too," pointing down to her hips. "There is no reason why Teddy could not be Harry and my baby, no reason why I couldn't have gotten pregnant last summer."

"You didn't?!" said Ron, looking so shocked that Harry almost laughed.

"Didn't what?" asked Ginny. She was getting dangerous. Her hand was poised to grab her wand.

"Have sex with Harry last summer," said Ron, looking at his trainers.

"No," said Ginny sulkily, remembering her brother's interruption on Harry's birthday.

"Maybe if we had, I could have come with you?" Ginny said jauntily, with a big smile on her face.

"Noooo," said Ron. He got a panicky look on his face. The thought of Harry and Ginny having sex in the tent while they were on the run horrified him. He finally asked, "Are you?" Ron had gotten completely Weasley-red in the face at this point.

"Are we WHAT?" asked Ginny, sounding exasperated and looking like she could explode at any moment.

"Sex," said Ron with the horrified look still on his face. He couldn't quite believe he was having this conversation. What had he been thinking, to confront them?

Ginny looked over to Harry, who said to an expectant-looking Ginny, "I told your Dad we would wait." Ginny gave a deflated sigh.

"Wait until when?" Ron retorted.

Harry got a pensive look on his face. "I kind of expect until we get married," he said. "No sex before, but I kind of expect that after."

Hermione piped in, "Of course you're going to have sex after you're married. If you don't, you're not married."

"And you have to keep doing it?" said Ron, still looking horrified.

"And once YOU have started, if YOUR partner comes to bed all hot and bothered are YOU going to say, 'WE did it once, that's enough?'" said Hermione, looking directly at Ron, inches from his face and poking her finger into his chest to emphasize every 'you,' 'your' and 'we.'

Ron looked at her. He was suddenly very aware that Hermione was talking about the two of them, about Hermione having sex with HIM. Harry having sex with his little sister was one thing, but Hermione, she was really talking like it might happen … Oh he was on really dangerous ground here. "I guess not," Ron said very softly.

There was an awkward silence.

"I was thinking of asking you to be my best man, Ron," said Harry, "but if you don't think I should be marrying your sister... I love her, Ron. The timing is a little, oh, maybe we're rushing things some, but Ginny is the only one for me, and I love her."

"I'll be your best man," said Ron, suddenly sounding excited rather than righteous. "Mum's got to be furious at Dad. Did you have his permission?"

"Yes, I did," said Harry. "Before I, uh, before … before she yessed me into getting engaged, I, well your dad asked me how serious we were, and I said that I was going to. I mean, I didn't say when and I said that I hadn't, but we were talking about the Ministry and the estate, and yeah, I sort of did have his permission. And then after we had gotten, you know, after Ginny had the ring on her hand and well then we saw your dad again and he, well, he said it was fine but he was really worried about telling your mum."

"I thought Mum was going to explode," said Ron, with the eyes-wide-open surprised-look so typical of Ron "Are you going back to Hogwarts?" he asked Ginny, more curiously than accusingly.

"I hope so," said Ginny sort of pensively. "I hope we don't have to live in the dormitory. The four poster beds do have curtains. I guess I could sleep with you in the boys' dorm," said Ginny looking, at Harry with a teasing smile about Ron on her face.

"Then," she said, looking at Ron with her famous smirk, "you could watch over us, until we closed the curtains."

Ron got, if possible, an even more a horrified look on his face. He finally said, "Hermione, could you imagine being married and at Hogwarts?"

"I haven't been asked, Ron," said Hermione sweetly, giving him an innocent smile.

'Does Hermione expect me to ask her now,' thought Ron? 'How could I afford to be married? I couldn't even afford an engagement ring.' Finally he croaked out an answer. "Well, Harry has money. I've never had any money. I couldn't even afford a ring."

Harry was reminded of just how much Ron regretted not having any money. Even if he wanted to ask Hermione just now, there was no way that he could do it financially.

"Hermione, would you be my maid of honour," asked Ginny.

"Oh, that would be wonderful!" exclaimed Hermione, smiling at her friend to express her gratitude for not letting things get any more awkward.

Harry went to bed in awe of how Ginny had engineered the day's events and a little relieved that Ginny's parents were not furious at him.

Ginny went to bed sort of stunned that she had gotten away with saying "yes" to Harry's not proposing. She was surprised that her parents had not put up more of a fight, although she was still worried. Well, she was still a little worried about everything. Teddy was going to be very demanding. She also felt somewhat triumphant! 'Poor little Ginny Weasley, Ha! It's soon to be Ginny Potter, it is!' she thought, and then, 'Oh my. I got away with it! I actually got away with it!'

Authors Notes

_The original ending of this section didn't work, and I knew it. When a reviewer mentioned a scene I had to write by Ron to get by the censors on another site earlier , and another reviewer liked it, I knew what I had to do to make this scene better. Your reviews do make a difference._


	8. Ch 8, The Elves Funersl and Harry's talk

The Elves Funeral and Harry's talk with his Mum HPFF Ch 8

_iEven Harry Bloody Potter was intimidated by his beautiful Ginny./i_

Harry Potter woke up Saturday morning, looked at the ring on his finger and looked over at Ginny. He thought of the last two weeks. Two weeks ago he had no idea if they could complete the tasks Dumbledore had given him, no idea if he would even survive. Not much more than a week ago, he had survived the killing curse the second time, and almost a week ago, about this time, he had defeated Riddle. Then everything started to get complicated, although certainly in a more pleasant way.

He looked at Ginny, beautiful Ginny. Ginny, whom he wanted to be with more than anything else in the world last year; Ginny, who had wanted Harry Potter for half of her life; Ginny, who was so determined to land Harry, especially after that newspaper article. Whoever married Harry Bloody Potter, the hero of …who surely did not feel like any hero, just a survivor…who defeated Riddle…whatever…was going to need to be a strong person. Well, Ginny, like her mother, was a strong person. Is that how he got engaged? Even Harry Bloody Potter was intimidated by his beautiful Ginny. This brought a smile to his lips. It was humbling to know that he could still be intimidated after having defeated the greatest dark wizard of all time.

When Harry got up, Ginny was still sleeping. After nursing Teddy in the wee hours of the morning, she'd gone right back to sleep. It had been a short night. Harry could change nappies twice and hardly wake up, but Ginny was awake for the nursing and usually from the time Harry started to change a nappy until he was done with the last one.

Hermione, however, was up when Harry got up and greeted him enthusiastically.

"Shall we go to see the house-elf monument today Harry?" she suggested, nearly in the same breath as she'd said, "Good morning."

Harry grinned at his friend. He was hardly awake, but he knew the passion Hermione held for the house-elves. It was somewhat of a surprise that he too was eager to see how it looked.

"Sure, Hermione. No one else is up though. Could it wait until after breakfast?" Harry suggested.

Hermione shrugged. "Okay. Let's eat first, but if they're not up by then, they'll just have to catch up. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Harry said with a smile, and the two friends went down to the Great Hall, where they breakfasted together. As soon as they were finished, however, Hermione rose from the table, waiting impatiently for Harry to join her. The two made their way out to the grounds, eager to see the space they'd designated as the graveyard and the new monument.

It was just what Harry imagined: black marble with a wide arch and doorway in the middle and two walls coming out from the sides. On the front of one wall were over 2,000 names in elfish, with about 1,500 of them having English names below them. They stood admiring the impressive structure and were there reading all of the names and making plans for the funeral before any of the others awoke.

The elfish language had a different script, well more than a different script. When they talked about it later, Hermione said it looked like some of it was sort of Chinese or Egyptian, and at other times it looked to her like somebody had gotten carried away with different fonts and type styles. The names seemed to be reasonably long.

Aristotle came out. When Hermione asked about the names, she was told that an elfish name was much more than just an arbitrary thing appointed at birth, and that if you knew the language well enough, you could understand relationships and other things. Hermione thought that it reminded her of the way that Native Americans were named, to reflect personalities and roles within the tribe. "Very dangerous showing so much of what we are," Aristotle said. Looking right at Hermione he said, "Good but not safe. No, not safe at all."

Harry and Hermione were silent for about half of the walk back. Eventually Hermione said to Harry, "So you and Ginny are engaged. You really asked her yesterday?"

Harry looked a little embarrassed. "Well," he said and then took a deep breath. "Bill is telling the truth about how much the Ministry needs the money. Several people have taken me aside and told me that I am very lucky to have someone as smart and honest as Bill Weasley working on my finances. And Mr. Weasley asked me about my intentions after I proclaimed that I was going to try to take Riddle's estates. I said I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Ginny, and I knew the Ministry would be helped if Bill was my brother-in-law, but that everything was moving too fast. Mr. Weasley, Dad Weasley, gave me permission to ask Ginny."

"You are avoiding the question, Harry," Hermione mock-sternly said.

"Well, she put this ring on my finger," said Harry showing his ring, "and then gave me the other ring and made sure I knew she wanted me to put it on her, and when I did she thanked me and sort of assumed we were engaged. I … I … What was I going to do? Tell her that I didn't want to marry her? The Ministry wants us married so Bill can handle all the estate and money issues, and I surely don't want to mess with finances. And I do love Ginny." Harry looked at Hermione. "I thought her mother would kill us! I'm amazed we got away with it."

"Are you happy you're engaged?" Hermione asked.

"Sure!" Harry exclaimed, honestly. "Stunned and everything is happening too fast but Ginny and me, that's fantastic. How are you and Ron doing?"

"I can't believe it, how considerate he is trying to be. He really is trying to please me. He makes me laugh, keeps me from being too serious." Hermione took a big breath, looked at Harry and said, "Life IS a lot better."

As hectic and complicated as things were, Harry had to agree with her.

* * *

Ginny woke up shortly after Harry had left for the Great Hall with Hermione. Teddy was making some pleasant noises. She felt the nursing bra; it was almost out of Tonks's duplicated breast milk, and Ginny knew she was going to have to make some more before Teddy decided he needed to nurse. 'I think Harry can get up and change nappies and go right back to sleep,' she thought. 'I'm not even sure he's awake when he is changing Teddy's nappies, not if they are just wet. I definitely can't sleep when I'm nursing.' She picked up Teddy and felt the nappy. It was dry! Angelina and George were in the room, and Angelina looked sort of awake, so Ginny went over and asked, "Could you watch Teddy while I make some more milk and go to the loo?"

"No problem. I'd love to watch the little tyke," said Angelina.

Ginny went to the loo and then got out the bottle with what was left of Tonks's breast milk. She put in the proper amount of water and formula and said the spell that changed the formula into a duplicate of Tonks's milk. She then said the spell that sent most of the breast milk into the bra.

Looking at her ring, Ginny thought, 'I don't need the i_Touch-of-Lust/i_ spell today; I need a i_Touch-of-Sleep/i_ spell. She thought this was going to be the second day in a row that she refrained from using the spell, although she was not totally sure why she did not want to use it. Fatigue had as much to do with it as anything, although the ring certainly helped. Ginny thought that Teddy had been up more that night than ever before, and she was seriously short of sleep. There were some really nice things about taking care of a newborn, but a good night's sleep was NOT one of them.

Ginny had been awake for just over an hour, thinking how amazed she was that she had gotten the engagement ring on her finger, while she finished preparations in the loo before her next nursing session with Teddy. She briefly considered sleep as he finished, until Teddy made it very clear that he was not ready for sleep. Gradually, hunger overcame tiredness for Ginny, and she took the baby downstairs with her to get some breakfast.

By the time Ginny was done eating, Harry and Hermione appeared in the Great Hall too, having finished making the arrangements for the Elves funeral.

Ginny saw Harry and Hermione come into the Great Hall. "I'm not even engaged twenty four hours and you're already out with another woman," Ginny said in mock anger, leaning her cheek up for a kiss.

"A mighty beautiful woman too," Ron jumped in, earning himself a lovely blush from the witch under discussion. Then, in a loud aside to Harry, he added, "I'm glad you're engaged to someone else or I'd be jealous."

Hermione laughed. Ron got up and hugged Hermione, and they passionately kissed. Molly was sitting at the table. She cleared her throat and said, "There are other people at the table, Ronald."

"Oh," said Ron, looking intently at Hermione. "I hadn't noticed." Then looking at his mother Ron said, "Sorry, Mum, but I was such an idiot ignoring Hermione the last seven years that I'd better make it up to her now."

"Oh, you are going to spend years making up to me, Ronald dear," Hermione said with a superior smile, and Ron got a mock horrified look on his face.

Harry sat down next to Ginny and they lightly kissed, certainly more chastely than Ron and Hermione had done. Then they turned to Molly, Ginny with a superior 'I'm better than my brother' smile on her face. For Ron and Hermione's benefit, Molly pointedly said, "Good morning, my children who are engaged and who deem it fit to behave themselves."

Harry said, "Er, thanks, Mum?"

He leaned over to kiss Molly's cheek in greeting, and she smiled fondly at how he had addressed her. "You're such a respectful son," she said approvingly.

"Aw, Mum, he's always been your favorite. Why pretend any different?" complained Ron, albeit half-heartedly and with a grin that indicated his approval of Harry's inclusion in the family.

"She has good taste," said Ginny, rubbing Harry's knee under the table.

"That's because I'm the black sheep, so she has to take my side in things," said Harry knowingly, and he pointed to his hair to make his point.

They all enjoyed a good chuckle, even Molly. She sobered first though, and much more seriously said, "We really ought to start working on some wedding plans at some point soon. There's very little time for us to get everything organized."

Harry choked on his cereal. While pounding him on the back, Ginny said, "You're right. There is quite a lot to do. Maybe Kreacher can get us some bridal magazines to look at."

* * *

Harry decided that this funeral ought to be covered by the Daily Prophet and called for Fawkes to find Cindy Base. Arthur and Michael had to get back to work, but the rest of the family went out to the Elf graveyard. The service was scheduled to start at 10:00 AM. Just before it was to begin, Cindy Base showed up with a photographer. She went over to Ginny and asked her what was going on. Cindy was usually a very good reporter, but for some reason she was terrified of Harry Potter, and had a very hard time asking him anything. Ginny tried to explain as best she could but told Cindy that she really needed to talk to Harry or Hermione, who had organized everything.

Aristotle showed up with what must have been all of the house-elves at Hogwarts, over a hundred of them. One of the house-elves being buried was named Twinkle. Her mate was at her side, and two elves carried her. "It's English for her elfish name, because her eyes always twinkled. I'll miss those eyes," said her mate with tears in his own eyes.

Hermione looked at the rather long name and thought that there was more to that name than just "Twinkle" but kept her thoughts to herself.

Harry was approached by another elf. "My pappy did not have a name except for his elf name, but if you agree we would like to call him Dobby after the hero elf who saved your life," the elf said, looking up hopefully.

"I would like that," said Harry. "Put on the monument that he is named after the Dobby who saved my life, please." Aristotle agreed to the request.

The elves had two shovels, and Harry and Hermione went to the spot Aristotle indicated and started to dig the graves.

When Harry looked up, he saw more and more house-elves appearing. To his great surprise, Grabhook and Hammering had shown up to witness the funeral, along with a large number of goblins. Grabhook had the sword with him, and he smiled approvingly at Harry.

Once the graves were done, the elves gently laid the bodies in the graves. Aristotle looked at Harry, and he began the speech that he'd worked on with Ginny, Hermione and Ron. They'd gone over every word, to make sure that everything was said in the best way possible. In fact, they had put in the same amount of effort to this that they had for the news conference. "We are gathered here to honor the two brave house-elves who lost their lives in order to help us defeat Tom Riddle and his Death Eaters. No one had ordered them to do so. No one had asked them to do so. But when given the choice of whether to fight or to hide, they chose to fight. They chose to defend Hogwarts and the world that they lived in. We honor them because they did what was right, not what was easy. They deserve the same level of respect as anyone who fought in this war.

Twinkle, who was named for her twinkling eyes, will be missed by her mate, who dearly loved her. I'm afraid that I can't pronounce the name for the other house-elf who was killed since it's in Elfish. But his son asked that we call him Dobby, to honor the house-elf that I freed many years ago, who was killed a few weeks ago as well. That Dobby rescued my friends and me, during one of our most difficult times. He saved our lives, without regard to his own safety.

Let us have a minute of silence to contemplate these two brave and worthy house-elves who gave their lives so that we all might have a better world."

Harry waited for the full minute, his eyes closed and his mind on the two elves. Then he looked out at the crowd, which seemed to have grown exponentially. Everyone's heads were bowed reverentially. He cleared his throat discretely. "With this moment, we also honor all of the house-elves who have served Hogwarts for so many generations. They received no recognition from wizards. They got no thanks from the masters that they served. They took care of the wizards' most precious commodity, the children. It's time that we gave them the gratitude and respect that they have so arduously earned, with no expectation of award. We hope this monument is but the first of many things that will give the house-elves of Hogwarts and all of the house-elves the thanks and respect they deserve."

Hermione then took up the mantle and said, "No house-elf should have to die and be discarded like a piece of property. We hope that this graveyard will be a model for how house-elves should be treated. This graveyard should be open to any house-elf who wants to be buried here."

Harry looked around again and very quietly said, "Aristotle, how many house-elves are here?"

"125,256, almost every house-elf in world, sir. All decided to come, even if owners wanted them do something else. Are giving house-elves too much. Is terrible gift, Harry Potter. House-elves only had to obey, no freedom, no judgment. Now we has to decide rights from wrongs. Not easy. Most house-elves not accept this gift."

"Just because we put the names on the monument in Elfish?" asked Harry.

Aristotle thought for a moment and said, "Is combination: Monument, Elfish, what you do with Kreacher, marker for Dobby, everything. Many other things happening. Free house-elves in North America. Many changes. Scary."

"Did we do the wrong thing, Aristotle?" asked Harry, noticing how many of the house-elves displayed the signs of self-torture that had become familiar to him. There were bandaged fingers, black eyes and a fair amount of bleeding amongst many of them.

Aristotle replied, "No, Harry Potter. You is doing the right thing. Is house-elves' problem."

"It's all of our problem" Harry insisted.

Aristotle looked surprised by that pronouncement. "Maybe so, Harry Potter, maybe so."

Most of the other house-elves vanished, but there was a small group that was taking some time to move. It looked like there were eight injured or sick house-elves, and a like number taking care of them.

Hermione asked, "Were all of them hurt in the Battle?"

"Half," answered Aristotle.

"And the other half?" Hermione asked.

Aristotle looked around. Cindy, the reporter from the Prophet, was there. "Cannot tell!" Aristotle exclaimed.

Cindy said, "Whatever the story, if it needs to be kept private, I will not write about it. I will pretend that I was not here."

Aristotle looked uncomfortable, but continued. "Sometimes house-elves sick or hurt and owners give them freedom just so owners do not have to take care of them. Easier than killing them. Professor Dumbledore let them come here. Professor McGonagall says we may keep doing same. Just not so good medicine for house-elves."

Fleur walked up to the group with a witch and two house-elves. "I 'ave 'ouse-elf 'ealers I told you I would try to get, Aristotle," she said. "Zey are from ze only house-elf medical center in ze world, in North America. They will work 'ere, and then I am going to try to get them on ze staff of St. Mungo's."

"That's fantastic!" Hermione said. Looking at Aristotle she commented, "Changing the magic? Maybe a good thing?"

Kreacher, who was also there, grinned and said, "Oh, very subversive. One house-elf owned by Harry Potter, very subversive. Many, many subversives!"

"Many, many dangers," Aristotle said, nodding in agreement with Kreacher.

"More money and documents, Arry," Fleur apologized, as she brought out a batch of papers. "Arry Potter foundation to pay."

Harry looked at Ginny, who was right next to him. "It is going to be our money, not just mine," he said. "It ought to be the Harry and Ginny Potter Foundation."

"I will make ze shanges" Fleur replied. "Arry et Geenny Potter Foundation."

The other house-elves and goblins all vanished within about five minutes. Aristotle and the house-elves went back to the castle, as did most of the staff and visitors who had assembled. Soon only Harry, Ginny and Teddy, Ron and Hermione and Cindy Base with the photographer, were all who were left. Cindy interviewed them all, collecting background information on Dobby and how he had saved Harry's life. She promised to owl Harry and Hermione with a draft of the article before it was published.

The assembled group went back into the Hogwarts Great Hall for lunch. Harry sat with the extended Weasley family, while Cindy went around the hall, talking to other people. After the meal, Ron and George went off to talk by themselves. Teddy was fussy, and Ginny announced that she and Hermione were going up to the dorm room to feed Teddy, put him down for a nap and talk.

"Can I come?" Angelina asked when she heard what they were going to do. "I could use some girl-talk time myself."

"Of course," Hermione assured her with a glance at Ginny. "It is okay, isn't it?"

"It's okay if you don't mind my feeding Teddy and changing his nappies while we talk."

"I don't mind at all," Angelina laughed, and the three young women left the room.

Harry and Molly were the only ones left at the table when Cindy approached Harry, saying, "Thank you, Mr. Potter, for inviting me to the ceremony with the elves! It was so amazing!"

Harry answered, "You're welcome, Cindy. Please call me Harry."

Cindy turned red and shyly said, "Yes sir, Mr. Potter."

He insisted, "Harry, please."

Cindy looked embarrassed and a little frightened and said, "Oh, Mr. Potter, sir, I've never met anyone as important as you. My parents are lower class Muggles: my dad works in a factory and my mum at a greengrocer. They taught me to always respect my betters. I could never address someone so important as you, someone who has been famous and important his whole life, by his first name."

Harry asked, "How long have you been a reporter, Cindy? I don't remember you from Hogwarts. You must have met some important people in your career."

Cindy said, "I was sent to school at the Salem Academy in the U.S. because of all of the dangers to Muggle-borns here. When I graduated a year ago, I had an offer for a job at the Daily Prophet, but then the Ministry fell and I was told to stay in the U.S. After you defeated Voldemort, the Prophet contacted me and offered me a job. I was in Tom Timmerman's office when your Patronus arrived, and as soon as he got back, he said to me, 'You have your first assignment. Stay close to Harry Potter and his friends and come back every day with stories.' Ginny and most of your friends are easy to talk to, but sorry, sir, I am still afraid of you. You have always been famous and powerful and I have never been important."

Harry said, "How much do you know of my history? I definitely did not feel important and powerful when I spent the first eleven years of my life living in a closet under the stairs at my aunt's house, wearing my cousin's hand-me-down clothes, no friends, never a toy to call my own."

Cindy replied, "I never knew that, sir."

Harry told Cindy, "Things got better after I got to Hogwarts except that I spent the last seven years with someone trying to kill me, someone who was killing my best friends. Every few months the students and Wizarding community would change their minds as to whether I was a hero or a mad delinquent. I still don't feel all that powerful or special. I had so much help, and I wish other people would share much more of the credit. Cindy, do me a favor and write more about Ron and Hermione, Ginny, Neville and all of the other good people who were so brave and did so much to bring down Riddle."

Cindy answered, "Yes, sir, Mr. Potter."

Harry insisted, "It's Harry, please."

Finally, Cindy said, "Yes sir, Ha – Ha – Harry sir. Oh, H-Harry, congratulations on your engagement! Ginny told me. I think I need to put it in the paper to make the record accurate."

Harry agreed to publishing news of the engagement.

Cindy went off to talk to other people, and Harry turned to Molly. "Am I really that scary, Mum?"

Molly looked at Harry and said, "I might ask you if I am really that scary, Harry."

Harry thought about that for a few moments and said, "Your sons are still scared of you. I'm not sure if Ginny is."

Molly shook her head and said, "Ginny! She isn't scared of things she should be scared of."

Harry asked, "Like taking care of Teddy?"

Molly answered, "Like taking care of Teddy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."

Harry asked, "How do you feel about her nursing Teddy? Is she too young to be a mother?"

Molly replied, "Arthur and I got married young, and because of that I ended up counseling a lot of very young mothers. The youngest turned 16 the month after she gave birth. It's not easy being a young mother."

"And nursing?" asked Harry.

"Well, I don't really approve of bottles," said Molly, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Not natural at all. But nursing keeps Ginny tied to Teddy, and she is just so young."

Harry then asked, "How old were you when you got married? How old were you when you had Bill?"

Molly said, "Arthur was 18 and I was 17 when we got married."

Harry looked at Molly with a questioning look, and asked, "Did you graduate from Hogwarts at 17?"

Molly took a little time to answer, looking down at the floor and then back at Harry. "Well, no. . . Harry, I might as well tell you the whole story. You're going to find out eventually, and you might as well hear it from me. Arthur was a year ahead of me at Hogwarts. He graduated June of 1970. I was in my sixth year. We got married that June, and Arthur took the first job he could at the Ministry. None of the jobs he has had ever paid well; the politics of the Ministry always worked against him. Plus being in the Order, he felt he could not make waves, in the last few years. He is making 50% more than now as he has ever made! And then Bill was born six months later, and no, he was not early." There was an awkward pause. "Harry, this is hard for me to talk about," said Molly with just a slight hint of embarrassment or even panic on her face.

Harry just looked at Molly, trying to be as compassionate as possible.

Molly then said, "Harry, it was not the first time, but please don't ask me any more. You're too close to the age we were. You're engaged to Ginny, who is probably as eager as I was, and from all I can see you are trying to do the right thing. Well, I never went back to Hogwarts. That's probably why I want Ginny to have her last year and graduate, why it was so hard that the twins never finished. I had my hands full trying to raise a family that kept getting bigger and bigger on a paycheck that never seemed to be enough. If I am good at magic, it is because I've had to be. Every used or broken thing we could get our hands on had to be transformed, stretched and made to do the work of ten non-magical things.

I never regretted having any of the children. I wanted them all and love being the mother of a big family. When the time is right, I am sure I will like being a grandmother. For all of the struggles, we have had a good life. With Voldemort gone, maybe we can go on to have a much better life without that threat hanging over us."

"At least you have the Burrow," said Harry.

Molly answered, tears starting to form, "Harry, we don't even own the Burrow. We rent a couple of acres, and the rest is owned by an absentee landlord that we have never met, who lets us use it."

Harry, who already knew some of the answer, asked, "How did you get it?"

Molly said, getting control of her emotions, "Dumbledore arranged for us to meet a property agent just before we got married. He said the owners wanted to rent and eventually sell land to poor witches and wizards."

"But you had to build the house and shed," Harry prompted.

"Yes," said Molly. "The best wizarding houses are like your house at 12 Grimmauld Place, built sort of Muggle-like but strengthened and modified by magic. We never had any money to build anything except by magic. Arthur is really worried about The Burrow. He cannot get any indication that the fireplace is still connected to the Floo Network or that it even exists."

To get her mind off of the possible state of her home, Harry then said, "I know who owns the property, Mum … Mum … Mother."

Harry looked at Molly, who looked back at him. There was something about the way he was speaking, full of love and emotion, which clearly touched her.

Harry lost his train of thought then and said, "Do you have any idea how good it is too call you Mum? It feels so good to be part of a loving family. I really am lucky. We may not have a fairy tale Happily Ever After ending, but life is still good." Harry had never had a person he could call mum, whom he could talk to as a mother. Aunt Petunia was never really a mother to him, never wanted Harry to call her mum or mother. In fact, she'd been quite vehement in reminding him that she was only his aunt and had not exactly volunteered to take care of him.

Molly, in a questioning voice and with a puzzled look in her face, said, "You sound like Ginny with the Happily Ever After."

Harry followed up with, "She told me a little about Happily Ever After. I didn't follow her script, her dream ending. I defeated Riddle on Saturday and did not marry her in a big fairy tale wedding on Sunday."

Molly smiled and sort of thought out loud, "She did like those Muggle fairy tales. The books were old and worn, but they were the best we could afford. We didn't have any little girl books when Ginny was born, and Arthur found those thrown out, and we repaired them. Ginny had, maybe still has, six little dolls that I charmed out of the chaff of some wheat. They could be transformed into whatever character she wanted. One was usually Harry Potter and another was Ginny. The others were a constantly changing cast of characters. And she would have Brave Harry Potter slay the wicked wizard, well usually she and Harry Potter would slay the wicked wizard together."

Harry and Molly both laughed at this. "She never was much of the helpless princess type," Harry said. "That's one of the things I love about her, how tough she is."

Molly replied, "Well, no, she's never been much for the helpless princess role. She is a girl and really wants to be married, so after she had helped in the battle, her doll and the Harry Potter doll would kiss and the next thing you knew there was a big wedding and she would live Happily Ever After. Sometimes the Happily Ever After would have a doll transformed to be very small, a baby. Lots of times Happily Ever After was the end of the game.

Well, then she met the real Harry Potter. When you were dating, she told me, 'the real Harry Potter is a lot nicer than the hero in my dreams. My dream Harry was always strong and brave, but he was not always gentle and good.' The real Harry Potter is the person Ginny is in love with, the one we all love. Most girls want to marry someone who will be a good father. When you talk to Teddy, hold him and change him, I'm sure Ginny made a good choice."

This sudden endorsement of Harry took him by surprise, and he did not know what to say. His throat felt tight and his eyes seemed suspiciously moist. He finally said, "Thank you, Mum. Your approval and trust means the world to me."

They were quiet for a brief while. Then Molly said, "You said you knew who owned the Burrow."

Harry said, "I do."

Molly asked, "Who is it?"

Harry answered, "The Potter estate. I own the property now."

Harry was very quiet. He knew what he wanted to do, but was not sure how to approach it. Molly looked like she was pondering this revelation, but she did not say anything either. Finally Harry said, "Remember the parchment that came along with the rings? It and documents attached to the property have said that if we want a happy marriage, if we want a happy life, then I have to be, we have to be generous with our wealth. The property was supposed to be given to you years ago. But my parents died, and I was not of age yet. You need a nice house and whatever it takes, I'm going to make sure you get it. That's where Ginny and I will bring our children to see their grandmother and grandfather, so it's not like it's all just charity. It's to our advantage as well."

Molly hid a smile. She enjoyed his sneaky way of forcing her to accept the offer. She said, "I hope the Burrow is intact, but thank you for your offer. Could you build a couple of classrooms? Is there extra property that you could rent or sell to Rosemary and Michael? I have been talking to Rosemary about home schooling the six children, and I may be helping her if we can work it out."

Harry said, "Bill is already working on it. You're ready for small children?"

Molly answered, "They're not that little, but yes, I miss having children underfoot."

Harry asked, "Mum, what is going to happen to Teddy when Ginny goes back to school?"

Molly said, "I'm not sure, but I expect Andromeda will either move in with us so that we can share taking care of Teddy or I will end up taking care of him. Plus, you and Ginny will have plenty of time on weekends and holidays to give us a break. I want Ginny to have a good year at school, but she is not going to just walk away from Teddy!"

"I know I could never walk away from Teddy. Not after losing my parents and so many other people," said Harry vehemently.

"Teddy needs some more clothes," said Molly timidly.

"Anything he needs you can get. Tell Kreacher and he will get the money. I will give you money to shop for Teddy. Please, let me pay for everything," said Harry.

"Thank you, Harry-… Son," said Molly. "It will mean a lot to Andromeda to know that Teddy is going to be taken care of."

Harry eventually excused himself and went up to find Ginny. She, Hermione and Angelina were still talking. Harry lay down and almost immediately fell asleep for a short nap.

Ginny decided how she was going to answer the letters from witches interested in Harry. She included a copy of the newspaper photograph showing Harry, Ginny and Teddy Potter. The letter said:

"Dear So-and-So,

Thank you for your letter. Harry Potter is indeed the kindest, most wonderful wizard in the world. He and I are very busy right now.

Sincerely,

Harry's Ginny"

Ginny was not going to tell those witches that she and Harry were not married yet. By the time they found out, maybe she and Harry would be married! All of the other witches who wanted her Harry were going to have to go through her! Ha! Ginny was still a little shocked that she'd got away with getting the engagement ring on her finger.

Ginny was tired the rest of the day, but she wanted to get all of the letters from witches that wanted HER Harry answered. As soon as she answered a letter, she destroyed the original. Ginny also made sure that all of the photographs were destroyed.

Harry spent the rest of the day answering mail as well, although in his case some of the letters contained difficult questions from people at the Ministry, most of them about Death Eaters, or if someone was a Death Eater, sympathizer or a person just trying to not get killed. Some of them were very difficult to answer, especially since he didn't know every witch and wizard in England, despite his connection to Voldemort.

Shortly before dinner, Molly came over to Ginny and said, "I need a little time with you alone, women's things."

Ginny was very nervous, but she got up and left with her mother. About an hour later, she was back with a small package in her hand.

"What are those?" asked Harry.

"Birth control potions," Ginny said, pondering the package and feeling rather shocked. "Mum said I'd better get used to using them, so that when we are married, I won't forget and get pregnant before we want to have a baby."

Ginny got her typical snarky look, gave Harry a long-lasting kiss, and with a huge smile, said, "I bet Mum doesn't think we will be able to wait until August 11th!"

"I'm going to try my hardest," Harry said, looking very serious. "Your dad trusts me."

"Well, Mum doesn't trust me," Ginny replied offhandedly. She wriggled her eyebrows provocatively and added, "Probably with good reason!" She looked at the birth control potions again and smiled at Harry.

Harry thought, 'Arthur warned me about passionate red-headed women. Ginny's ready to have sex at any time, and it is going to be my job to make us wait.' Harry was torn between his raging hormones, unknown to him augmented by Ginny's i_Touch-of-Lust_/ i spell, and his desire to be faithful to the promises he had made to Arthur, his soon to be father-in-law. He was sure Molly wanted them to wait too. Just one more difficult situation.

The next morning, about 3:00 AM the entire Weasley clan was awakened by a Patronus asking for help at the Hogsmeade entrance. Harry told Ginny to stay with Teddy, and the rest of the family rushed out of the castle to the entrance.

The wards that protected the castle were under attack, but holding. Spells usually did not work across the wards in either direction, but Harry cast a powerful spell right through the wards, knocking out a couple of the attackers. At this, the attack was broken off, and all of the attackers vanished, taking the two knocked-out wizards with them. Less than an hour later, everyone was back in the dorm to try to get some sleep.

Ginny was awake and furious. "I hated having to stay behind!" she fumed.

Harry apologetically answered, "You had to stay with Teddy, Ginny. It was your choice to become his surrogate mother, and I love you for it. I'm sorry you could not be with us."

Ginny mumbled to herself and tried to get back to sleep. But the commotion had awakened Teddy. Between watching and playing with him and fuming about not going with the rest of the family Ginny was awake another two hours.


	9. Ch 9 Who is going to Hogwarts this fall

Ch 9 Who is going to Hogwarts in the fall? 

_Ginny said "you were dating both of them?"_

Harry woke up Sunday morning later than he usually did, a little after seven. He remembered that they were having breakfast and lunch buffet-style, so there was no fixed schedule. Rosemary had to show the house-elves what a buffet was, and they became invisible and visited a couple of Muggle restaurants to show them different styles of buffets. That way, the guests could wake up and eat whenever they wanted to. In general, this Sunday was going to be a day as of much rest as they could get away with. There was a general agreement that almost everybody was exhausted.

Harry went to the loo and got dressed for his day. He came back to the beds. He and Ginny were not married, but they were engaged. Somehow they were functioning sort of like a little family, and Harry felt good about it. He looked at Ginny, still sleeping, as was Teddy. Harry lay back in bed just looking at Ginny and Teddy, grinning. Other people started to stir and get up, and finally just after eight, Ginny started to stir. Harry leaned over and gave her a very light kiss. Ginny smiled.

Ginny started to wake up. She thought, 'what do I have to do now?' as she kept her eyes closed. 'The nursing bra is almost empty. I have to get milk into them. The letters are answered. I have to … I have to …' Harry gave her another very light kiss, and she opened her eyes. Harry had that absolutely fantastic smile that could light up a room and that certainly lit up her life. "What do we have to do today, Harry?" she asked.

"Not much," said Harry. "From what Bill says, my next week is going to be pretty full of going to vaults to get money out of estates, money and records and all sorts of financial things I don't know much about."

Ginny excused herself to the loo and when she returned, she looked around and asked, "Do you think we could put the curtains up and get some privacy?" Even though there were two beds side by side, they were still in the framework of the four poster beds, and Harry closed the curtains all around the bed.

"I love this part of taking care of Teddy," Ginny sighed, as she let the baby latch on.

"I'm so proud of you, Ginny," said Harry, still beaming. "After so much time fighting and running and never being able to think of the future, it is just so fantastic to be a little family. Maybe we're young but we've got the rest of our lives ahead of us, together."

"Well, don't leave me hasn't exactly worked out," Ginny replied, a little pensively. But then she beamed back at him, saying, "But I'm so happy we're engaged. I can't wait until August 11."

"We haven't exactly set a date yet," Harry said with a questioning look on his face.

"I have!" exclaimed Ginny. "Wind Teddy, Harry," she added absentmindedly, as she handed Teddy to Harry. He picked up Teddy and put him on his shoulder, eventually getting a big burp out of Teddy, along with a little milk on his shoulder. Teddy then made the mouth motions that indicated that he was still hungry, and Ginny opened the flap on the other breast without closing the first one. Harry reached over and gently closed the open flap. Ginny made a mouth motion like she wanted a kiss, and while she was nursing, Harry and Ginny lightly kissed.

After Teddy was done Ginny went back to use the loo, and thought, 'I didn't use the i_Touch-of-Lust/i_ spell Friday or Saturday. We're engaged, so it couldn't hurt to use it today.' She used it with one flick. Ginny then went back to the beds, ready for, she thought, some good snogging. Harry was playing with Teddy, so she lay down on the bed and promptly fell soundly asleep.

Harry looked at Ginny with dismay. He was really hungry, so he carried Teddy down stairs and got some breakfast before going back upstairs. At 9:30 Ginny was still not awake, so Harry gently kissed her.

"Nine-thirty, sleepy Ginny. Breakfast is almost over," said Harry.

Ginny shook herself awake and pulled on some clothes. "I'm famished, Harry," she said, suddenly feeling ravenous now that she was alert. They went downstairs, Harry with a sleeping baby on his shoulder. When they got there, Ginny spotted her mother and said, "Mum, when do babies sleep through the night?"

"Oh, about the time you're going back to Hogwarts Teddy should be sleeping through the night. Meanwhile, he's your problem, I'm afraid. No one else can do what you can do for him," Molly said, while smiling at Ginny. Harry thought he could see more than a touch of the Ginny-Weasley-smirk on Molly as she kidded her daughter.

"You think it's funny, don't you," Ginny ruefully said to her mother.

"Payback!" Molly exclaimed, laughing. "Payback for all of the nights I stayed awake for you."

"Thanks," Ginny growled, her lips twisting at the irony.

Molly laughed some more, saying, with a big smile, "Oh, you're very welcome, Miss 'I never get to be grown-up.'"

Ginny looked at the ring on her hand and at her mother and realized that she was going to get no sympathy for her lack of sleep, no sympathy for being tied down with Teddy, not from her mother and probably not from anybody else either.

At about 10:00 AM, after almost everybody was awake, Professor McGonagall met with everybody at Hogwarts, staff and guests alike, and they agreed on strengthening the defenses of the grounds. As usual Ginny was stuck taking care of Teddy. She did ask the Headmistress, "Is there any way I can help with keeping the grounds safe?"

"With a month-old baby you are best off just staying out of the way, Ginny," Professor McGonagall answered.

"I feel so useless, being tied down with a baby," Ginny said to Harry and the Headmistress.

"Taking care of a baby is the most necessary and useful and loving thing in the world, Ginny. Your job is honestly more important than anyone else's," Professor McGonagall answered gently, with a more motherly and sympathetic tone of voice than either Harry or Ginny had ever heard her use.

"I'm sorry I'm grumpy," Ginny said. "I'm just used to doing things, and there is so much just being there and not doing with a small baby."

"Ever since my wand was repaired, I have been having a little trouble controlling it," Harry told Professor McGonagall, hoping to deflect Ginny's mind off of not being able to do much. "It seems more powerful, and I have to be really careful with it. Is there anything you know that could help?"

"You are hardly the first person to have that sort of problem," Professor McGonagall said. She took Harry to a room next to the infirmary where there were light and heavy objects, an obstacle course and a variety of other magical objects. There was an instruction book with exercises. Professor McGonagall said, "Occasionally, when someone has been hurt or has to get a new wand, they have a hard time controlling it, so this room has been set up to help."

"Is this dangerous?" asked Harry. "Could Ginny and Teddy be here while I practice?"

"There are some exercises that ought to be done with two people," Professor McGonagall told Harry. "We've made sure nothing is dangerous, so there is no reason Teddy should not be with you."

Harry, Ginny and Teddy spent quite a bit of Sunday in the room while Harry practiced with his repaired wand. He quickly found that most spells worked as well or sometimes better if they were done non-verbally and that with a little practice he could do some of the hardest exercises.

Harry also found out, almost by accident, that he could do some of the magic without a wand in his hand, something he decided he would have to ask Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall about.

* * *

The daily prophet had a very nice front page article about the elf funeral. The only notice of the formal engagement was a mention in the article saying, "Ginny Weasley, wearing Harry Potter's engagement ring, was by his side as usual."

* * *

Sunday night there was an announcement that Arthur Weasley, the head of Magical Law Enforcement, was going to talk to everybody about security at 7:45 the next morning.

Monday Arthur got up and said, "For those of you who do not know me, I am Arthur Weasley, the new head of Magical Law Enforcement.

Your Ministry is working frantically to try to restore order and security. Unfortunately, right after Harry Potter defeated Tom Riddle, the wizard who called himself Lord Voldesomething, a large number of Death Eaters and their allies escaped. We are aware of killings, damage to property, and we think, although we cannot be sure, some kidnappings tied to the end of the Battle. It is not yet nearly as safe as we would like.

We have been getting substantial help from the International Auror Association and the International Council of Witches and Wizards. By the end of next week most of you will be able to go home. Before you do, we need to interview you family by family.

My immediate family is probably the most at risk, and we are going home, but only toward the end of the week."

Then at breakfast, Professor McGonagall approached Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione and said, "I would like to talk to you about finishing your schoolwork. Are you four coming back to school in the fall?"

"I am." Hermione popped up eagerly, surprising no one. "I can't imagine not finishing. There are too many things to learn, and I would never feel good if I didn't finish my classes. Ginny, are you coming with me? We'll be in the same classes! Maybe we can room together?"

Harry looked at Ginny and said, "We did talk about you finishing school."

Ginny looked at Harry, a fair amount of conflict in her face, but finally looked up at McGonagall and said, "As long as we can make sure that Teddy is taken care of I'll be back."

"Harry, Ron, what about you?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"I think I have too much to do, too many things people want me to do," Harry replied. "I'd like to finish, at least get the courses needed for becoming an Auror, but I don't see how I could be a full time student."

Ron was embarrassed. "I would like to finish my classes, but my brother George needs more help. I promised I would run the Hogsmeade store and try to help him develop new products. He wants me to start right away. Do you think I could try to work out a schedule so that I could get classes when I was not at work?"

Ron looked at Harry. "I think Harry and Kingsley want me to become an Auror too, although training doesn't start until September."

Professor McGonagall told Ron "For you Ronald, for both of you, we will do our best to work around your schedules. Come up to my office, and we will see what you boys need to graduate.

She sighed and added, "I can hardly call you boys any longer, not after everything you've been through. Young though you may be, you're certainly not children."

As they got ready to stand up, Ginny whispered to Harry, "Hermione is unot/u the person I was looking forward to sleeping with." Harry thought that sleeping was the least of Ginny's concerns.

When they got up to the headmistress's office, Professor McGonagall looked over some records and then said, "We have decided to grant both of you top grades in Defense against Dark Arts. It's hard to imagine a harder final exam.

"Both of you need Charms with Flitwick, Potions with Slughorn, and Transfiguration with me to meet the formal Auror requirements. All three of us will work with you over the next months to finish your classwork, setting up special programs if necessary."

Harry said, "From what Bill has said I will be busy most of the rest of this month with these estate problems, but most of the rest of the summer I should have time to attend classes."

"I'll see if both of you can start with Slughorn in June," said McGonagall. "Flitwick should be free from enough of his duties fixing the castle to work with you in July. Our new Transfiguration teacher will have her hands full in the fall, but if the Auror department can wait, and I understand they will for the two of you, we can cover Transfiguration over the fall evenings and have you up to speed before Christmas."

Harry had another question. "It looks like Ginny and I will be getting married before school starts. Is there some way she and I could be together? I really don't want to spend my time in London and have Ginny in a dorm room here."

Professor McGonagall looked pensive for a moment and then said, "I would like to speak to Harry and Ginny alone please." Harry went to get Ginny, and Ron left to find George.

Once Harry and Ginny were seated before her, Professor McGonagall's eyes bored into Ginny. "You're not pregnant already, Ginny," she said, her voice heavy.

Ginny wailed, "We haven't even had usex!/u I'm still a uvirgin!"/ u

Professor McGonagall looked confused for a moment and said, "And that's a problem?"

Ginny didn't say anything but just looked a little embarrassed. She did consider it a problem that she was still a virgin. She had tried to be a little careful, not using the i_Touch-of-Lust/i_ spell TOO much, not being too forward. Ginny knew her parents WANTED Harry and her to wait, and she was really sort of trying to be good, but ushe wanted Harry!/u

Professor McGonagall continued, "What do you know about your female ancestors? I am sorry if I have assumed too much, but your mother's female ancestors have been sort of notorious for the last four hundred years for hasty marriages and babies born less than nine months after leaving school."

Ginny thought of the i_Touch-of-Lust/ i _spell, and her Mum getting the birth control potions but kept quiet, a little embarrassed.

Harry said, "The only reason I am rushing it has to do with inheriting Riddle's estates. Ginny's brother Bill is going to have a much easier time getting desperately needed money to the Ministry if he is my brother-in-law. It's not that I don't want to marry Ginny. There is nothing I would rather do, but the timing has to do with other things."

"I believe you, Harry," said Minerva. "But I don't believe for a minute that Ginny is sacrificing for the Ministry; she is her mother and grandmother and great-grandmother's descendent."

"So I'm going to have to live in a dorm room next year and not see my husband," said Ginny in a small sad voice.

"I didn't say that, Ginny," said Professor McGonagall, "but even if you are married and living in a separate set of rooms, you are still going to be a student and you will have to abide by student rules."

"Yes, Professor McGonagall," said Ginny, beginning to get a little hope.

Professor McGonagall said, "Hogwarts has a lot of rooms. There is a small suite connected to the Gryffindor common room. It also has an entrance to the hallway and a fireplace that can be connected to the Floo Network."

Harry and Ginny went to see the rooms. On one side of the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room was a wall with wooden panels. If you knew the right password, or if you had been charmed to be allowed into the room, the panel would open. It led down a short hall and another hidden door that led to a corridor in the castle. There was another door that led to a nice wood-paneled sitting room with a sofa and a couple of overstuffed chairs, plenty of bookcases, a desk large enough for two people to work at and a fireplace. The room had a nice-sized window and looked like a very comfortable room to spend time in. There was also a door leading to a bedroom with a full bath and a large closet. There was plenty of storage and a big bed.

"This is excellent!" said Harry.

Ginny was relieved. Once she and Harry were married, they were going to be able to shag as much as they wanted and not have to wait until breaks from school. Not being able to shag your husband: that was unthinkable! It was hard enough waiting until, until August 11 or whenever she could talk Harry into jumping into bed with her. AAAAhhhhhhh the 16-year-old hormones were running wild!

"I have told Molly about this room, and it will be available to you as soon as you are married," said Minerva.

Ginny said under her breath, "When you are married. When you get old enough. Wait. Wait. Wait." August 11 could not come soon enough, and they had better not make her wait any longer. When she was using the i_Touch-of-Lust/i_ spell she was only using it with one flick. Ginny was still feeling a little guilty she was using it at all, now that she was engaged. If it hadn't been some of those owls and photographs from the other witches, maybe she wouldn't feel so insecure. It seemed to be working more on her than on Harry.

Unbeknownst to Ginny, the i_Touch-of-Lust/i_ was working on Harry. He was just so used to having to submerge his feelings and do what had to be done that he was able to resist the urges better than Ginny.

Harry left for the Ministry shortly afterwards and to Gringotts after that. He and Bill were going to see how much they could get done this week, so that he could start school part time the following week.

Minerva McGonagall was sitting in her office looking at the portrait of Albus Dumbledore, and she said, "Has there ever been a married couple living at Hogwarts, one or both of them students?"

"Not in my time," said Albus.

"Was I wrong to let Harry and Ginny room together?" asked Minerva. "How was I going to turn down Harry after all he did for us?"

"I think I would have done the same thing, Minerva," said the portrait, the eyes twinkling with merriment.

"There are others too," said Minerva, looking worried. "This is a precedent we are going to have to live with." Albus had closed his eyes, a big smile on his face.

Later the same day, Ginny was sitting in the Great Hall, sort of looking at the fireplace which was still being used by the Ministry of Magic. The only way to use it was from the one fireplace in the Ministry to this fireplace in the Great Hall, so it really did not need guarding. But people appreciated being met, and it really was helpful to have someone there. Besides, Ginny needed something to do in addition to taking care of Teddy. Month-old babies sleep most of the time. She really liked taking care of Teddy. Nursing felt physically and psychologically good; it may have been partly due to the charms on the nursing bras, but she knew part of it was natural. At the same time, taking care of Teddy was taking her away from Harry, from being with him. Harry was thrilled that Teddy was being taken care of, but "never leave me" wasn't working out exactly as Ginny wanted it to.

Besides, she was not even 17, and here she was tied down with a baby, and if everything went according to plan August 11, she would be married. She was thrilled but a little scared as well. Some of their relatives had lived to be almost 150 years old. One of the advantages of being a witch or wizard was a lifespan that could be twice as long as a Muggle lifespan. She could celebrate her 100th wedding anniversary. That was thrilling but a little bit terrifying. Why were her parents letting her do this? Was she really ready? Oh she was more than ready for sex, but this was the rest of her life! Finally she saw her mother coming in the room. Molly sat down next to Ginny, looked at Ginny holding Teddy in her lap, and said, "How is the nursing going?"

"I really like nursing Teddy, it feels really good, but I don't want to be tied down with a baby when I go back to Hogwarts, and I feel guilty that I won't be his full time mother. I thought life was simpler when you were a grownup. Do you always have hard choices like this?"

"Always, and they're much harder than when you're younger," said Molly. "Some choices you live with for the rest of your lives, like the choice to have a baby, or to not take birth control so you might have a baby."

"How long does it take to make a baby?" asked Ginny.

"Nine months, more or less" said Molly, her tone teasing. "You know that!"

"Yes, but to start a baby how long do you have to do it to get a baby started?" asked Ginny, smiling slightly at her mother's attempt at humor.

"Once," said Molly firmly. "You might be amazed at how many babies were started during their parents' first time. That's one of the reasons I got you the birth control potions. I really hope you and Harry wait until you are married. I also know that sometimes people make mistakes, and one mistake can one baby make."

Molly put one hand on her hip, put a finger of the other hand inches from Ginny's nose, and in a no-nonsense tone of voice, said, "I – am – not – giving – you – and – Harry – permission – to – have – sex – before – you – are – married! Do you understand me?"

"It's hard to wait!" Ginny said, with all honesty.

"Of course it's hard to wait!" Molly exclaimed. "You've found the man you want to give yourself to, to spend the rest of your life with, and you are sixteen and your hormones are raging out of control and you want to jump in bed with him right now.

I never thought I'd let you get engaged at sixteen. Be a little patient. Don't forget that the best things are worth waiting for."

Ginny just rolled her eyes.

Molly thought, 'Thank Merlin for Harry. When has Ginny ever been patient?'

"I hate to sound stupid," said Ginny, looking rather ashamed, "but Ron sort of talks like maybe when Harry and I get married there will be a problem if, like sex is, like maybe we'll still be, I'll still be too young? Do they really make you stop and wait after you're married?"

Molly got a horrified look on her face. "Merlin no!" she exclaimed. "Once you're married, no matter how young, intimacy is assumed." She looked at Ginny a little more pensively. "One way of putting it is that your bodies are not just your own any more. You owe it to each other to please each other."

"Good," said Ginny, breathing out a sigh of relief. Then she again said, "I'm having a uvery/ u hard time waiting

"I'm having a hard time waiting for things to get back to normal," said Molly, her voice now sounding strained. She looked with concern at her daughter. "How are you holding up?"

"Everything has changed for me, Mum," said Ginny, frowning a little. "I don't know what 'normal' will be for me from now on. Is it normal for me to be a little scared? I mean, I know I want Harry more than anything, and I know I sort of pushed it along, and I'm not saying I want to back out, but everything is not like I imagined it."

"No," said Molly, "real life is seldom like our dreams. It can be very good sometimes, but it is seldom as easy as we would like it to be. Are you sure you want to get married at 17?"

"How old were you when you got married, Mum?" asked Ginny, suddenly realizing that she didn't know the answer.

"Seventeen; I'd just finished my sixth year at Hogwarts and was three months pregnant with Bill," said Molly. "It was not easy. In some ways, it never got any easier, but despite all of the trials and problems, I would not trade one moment of it and go back. Your father and I have had a wonderful marriage, full of all the joys that only sharing your life with another can bring."

"Did you finish school with a baby?" asked Ginny, looking at her mother with amazement. Suddenly she realized that her mother was one of the female ancestors Professor McGonagall was referring to, who got pregnant before graduating, something that came as a bit of a shock.

"No, Ginny, I never finished school, one great regret," said Molly. "That is probably why I am so disappointed that Fred and George never finished, and that is why I really want you to finish."

"How will I get school supplies once I'm married?" asked Ginny.

"I expect you will go to Diagon alley and buy them," said Molly, smirking.

"How will I pay for them?" asked Ginny.

"I know Harry has money," said Molly evasively.

"With Harry's money?" asked Ginny.

"It will be your money too, once you're married," Molly reminded her.

"All of the money in the vaults? Oh Mum, Harry's rich! I never thought about that," said Ginny, her eyes widening, whether from shock or excitement, Molly couldn't guess.

"You and Harry ought to talk about money," said Molly.

"Will they still call you if there are problems at school?" asked Ginny.

"I assume they will call Harry first," said Molly, feeling a little put-out at that.

"Mr. Potter," said Ginny, trying to sound grown up and a little masculine, "we have a discipline problem with your wife. Could you meet with the Headmistress to arrange a suitable punishment?" Molly and Ginny both laughed at that, shaking their heads at the somewhat ridiculous scenario Ginny had concocted.

"So, if I have a problem, I'll have to talk to Harry first?" asked Ginny, finally sobering up from the joke.

"Yes, dear," said Molly. "And Harry needs to talk to you too. As focused as you are on sex, talking, really communicating is much more important in a marriage."

"That's a little scary," said Ginny.

"Communication, sharing your life, is the best part of marriage," said Molly, with a wistful smile.

"So I shouldn't be scared?" asked Ginny again, taking note of her mother's expression.

"Oh, I never said that," said Molly, clearly thinking about some of the harder parts of the institution. "A good marriage is hard work. Anything good is hard work: raising a family, holding down a good job, anything you do well is going to take work. A good marriage is a lifetime of hard work, and yes, you have every reason to be scared. Just don't make it, 'I'm going to run away' scared, but 'I'm going to work hard at it' scared."

"So, the promise to never leave me really was more like 'you will always come back to me as soon as you can, not that you will always be by my side,'" Ginny sort of asked or said.

Molly looked at her daughter. "If you thought that you would spend the rest of you lives dreamily looking at each other or joined at the hip, you were living in a dream world, Daughter. If you do get to play for the Harpies, you will have weeks away from each other. I can almost bet that Harry will have to be gone for more than a week from time to time. You always have the rest of your family to go to for support but get used to not being together all the time."

"Is this part of growing up?" asked Ginny, feeling resigned.

"Yes it is, dear," said Molly, patting her daughter on the shoulder to remind her that there were still good things too.

Ginny and Molly were sitting next to each other on the sofa, and Ginny leaned her head against her mother and softly began to cry. Eventually, she said, "I want to be a grown up more than anything in the world, I really do, but growing up is hard work. Not how I imagined it."

Molly was softly crying by now as well. "Being a grown up can be just as hard. I thought that losing two brothers in one day was the worst thing that could ever happen, but losing a child is worse. I don't know of anything worse than burying one of your children. I hope you never have to do that."

After about ten minutes of comforting each other, Molly said, "We women have one advantage over our men. They have to appear so strong all the time. We do not have to feel embarrassed if we cry from time to time, and the tears do heal."

"Please don't tell Harry that I was crying," said Ginny, wiping away her tears.

Angelina Johnson saw Ginny and Molly and came over. She could tell that the two of them had been crying and asked, "Is it all right if I sit down with you for a good cry, as well?"

"What is the matter?" asked Molly, pulling Angelina onto the sofa next to her.

"I'm so worried about George," Angelina confessed. "Fred and George were like a symphony, but if you really knew them, you knew that they played different parts. Fred was the melody, the first one to speak. George was the harmony, the one who listened, usually tried to top Fred, but if Fred said something hurtful or that did not go over well, George would try to minimize the damage. Molly, George does not know how to be alone!"

Molly looked at Angelina and said, "Very few people knew how to tell them apart. You are right, it was always Fred and George, with Fred first. Who were you dating?"

"That is the frustrating thing," said Angelina, sounding almost bitter. Then her tone changed to be somewhat dreamy. "It was like we were a trio trying to become a quartet. I would get so mad at them, I would yell and scream, and they would start to compliment me."

Then she began to imitate Fred and George, turning back and forth and deepening her voice. "Damn fine woman – lots of spirit – beautiful – charming – smart – except when it comes to us – she loves us – are we lucky."

She became herself again and said, "It was always over and over, one trying to top the other, looking at me longingly. They knew just how to either get me to laugh or at least get over being so mad."

Ginny was trying to wrap her mind around it and said, "You were dating both of them?"

Angelina took a deep breath, knowing how strange it sounded, and said, "Well, I worked some at the store, was going to be working there full time until all the troubles with Voldemort got too bad. And we did things as a trio. But dates, they always went the same. It was like an audition. Fred almost always did the asking and took a girl out, and I went along with George. And then on the second date, if we got that far, I went out with Fred, and George went out with the other girl. Then we would switch again."

Then her frustration came out again. "We never got beyond four dates. There were only a couple of girls in the last two years who would even put up with that nonsense, and both of them were gold diggers just looking at the twins' business and money. All I had to do was to voice doubts about a girl, and that was it. I did not want to help choose a bride for one of the twins; I think I just wanted to marry one of them, but I did not want the choice to come about this way! I don't want to be the substitute-Fred for George."

Angelina looked at Molly and Ginny, tears just at the surface. "That's why I want to cry." Angelina was silent for a minute or two and then said, "I want George to learn how to be George without Fred, and that is going to be so hard for him."

Molly managed to keep the horror of what her sons had done off of her face and said, "Angelina, any time you need to say something, please feel free to come to me. Thank you for trying to take care of George. Let us know how we can help."

Molly sat in the middle, Ginny on one side leaning against her mother, Angelina on the other side holding hands with Molly, for maybe an hour, not saying much, just getting strength from each other, before Teddy woke up.

Over the next few days Ginny and Molly had a couple more discussions about growing up. For her part, Molly wished that Ginny and Harry did not have to grow up so fast, but between what Arthur was telling her and what she was seeing, she knew that she could not protect her daughter or adopted son as much as she would like.

Molly also spent some time talking to Angelina, although Ginny was seldom involved in these conversations.

When Harry got back that evening, Ginny asked Harry, "Who gave you money? Who paid for your school books?"

Harry explained, "When Hagrid picked me up before school during the summer, after I turned eleven, he took me into a vault that had been set up for me, with some of my money in it, money to be used for school and the like. After that, I just got money from Gringotts whenever I needed it. There's plenty of money. Do you need some?"

"Not now," said Ginny. "But Mum says that once I'm married, you are going to have to buy me stuff, not Mum and Dad anymore, and I don't know how that will work."

Harry thought for a moment and then said, "Once we're married, I expect you will be able to go to Gringotts, just like me. Kreacher can get money for me. Maybe he can get money for you too. I'll ask him." The old house-elf appeared with a crack. Harry questioned Kreacher, saying, "Can you get money for me if I ask?"

"What does master need?" asked Kreacher, as though he expected to head to Gringotts that moment to get said gold.

"Nothing right now, just to know that you can get it if I need it," said Harry.

"Kreacher can," said Kreacher, looking at Harry strangely.

"Can you also give Ginny money if she asks?" questioned Harry.

"Only if master gives permission," said Kreacher, starting to see where this was going.

"Give her money just like she was Mrs. Potter," said Harry.

Kreacher looked at Harry and Ginny like he wanted to say something but did not know how to say it. He finally said, "Not a problem treating her as Mrs. Potter, but how? What rules?"

"I don't know," said Harry, looking at Ginny. What sort of rules did they need?

"Master and Mistress needs to talks," said the old house-elf, bowing, and he disappeared with a crack.

"Mum said the same thing," said Ginny with a frown, "that talking was more important than sex. Boggarts. How come growing up is so complicated?"

Harry laughed. For all her desire to be grown up, Ginny really had led a somewhat sheltered life outside of Hogwarts, and her experiences at Hogwarts did little to prepare her for what she was going to be facing once she and Harry were married. "Maybe we'd better talk to your parents," said Harry. "I don't know much about being married either. I surely don't want us to have a marriage like Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia!"

Harry and Ginny found Arthur and Molly sitting at one of the tables in the Great Hall quietly talking. They approached Ginny's parents, and Ginny looked at her parents, saying, "Can we talk?"

"Please, sit down," said Molly. "What's on your mind?"

"Being married," Ginny blurted stupidly. Then she shook her head and added, "And talking, and money, and rules, and how you go about everything. Kreacher says that before he gives me any of Harry's money, he needs some rules, and I've never been married and is there some of it we don't see? Except for sex, we see that, but something else? Like money, and who buys what, and I don't know, what the rules are because that's what Kreacher said."

"Your mother was responsible for most of the money," said Arthur, looking thoughtful. "For spending it, even though I made most of the money. She had to buy food and clothes and keep the house running. Sometimes money was so tight that neither of us spent a Knut without both of us agreeing, and other times we each had a little money we could spend on things we wanted."

"It was really hard when we didn't have enough money," said Molly. "We got through it by talking a lot and agreeing, and a little loving helped." Molly held onto Arthur's hand and squeezed it when she said, 'a little loving' and got a little red when she said it, although you could tell she was also pleased.

"Each of you will have to give the other one some independence," said Arthur, knowing that these two were unlikely to experience the difficulties presented by poverty and would instead struggle to not overdo. "I always told Molly what was going on at the Ministry and with everything else I was doing, but she let me make my own decisions as to what I did, and I always listened to and appreciated her advice."

"The home was my domain," said Molly, giving them some insight into her part. "But I never did anything major without consulting Arthur. We made sure to agree on how to raise you and what appropriate punishments were, but also when to take scarce resources and do something fun or get something special for someone."

"Like what?" asked Ginny.

"Like when your dad had a chance to buy ten old brooms, at an excellent price," said Molly. "It kind of put us short of money for a while, but all of you so enjoyed flying it was worth it, and we even had a couple of extra brooms so guests could fly."

Molly and Arthur spent the next half hour talking to Harry and Ginny about marriage and communication, and shared a little more about how difficult it was raising a large family with a limited budget.

After they were done, Harry called Kreacher and said to him, "If she asks for it, give Ginny enough money to buy clothes or school supplies or household supplies, and I don't care if she spends some of it on herself and her friends. Only ask me if you think it is way too much, and then just ask if she and I have talked about spending that much money."

"Yes, Master, Mistress," said Kreacher. From then on Kreacher treated Ginny as Harry's equal partner, even before the August marriage ceremony.

* * *

Tuesday morning at breakfast, Hermione pointed out letters in the Daily Prophet objecting to house-elf funerals and to the goblins having possession, even part time, of the Sword of Gryffindor. Harry and Hermione were making enemies. These letters continued for some time. Arthur made sure to tell the family that the person most at danger was almost certainly Harry, with Ginny and Hermione next. Arthur said that both the Ministry and Bill were working on getting and paying for enhanced security for the family.

Ron, George and Angelina and Lee left for the shop. Harry left for the Ministry to meet Bill. Hermione was helping get the school back together. Ginny was left to watch the fireplace for infrequent visitors and take care of Teddy.

As Harry left, Molly noticed Ginny's distress at Harry going, and asked her, "Ginny, have you shared with Harry how you feel when he leaves in the morning?"

"He can't do anything about it, Mum," Ginny said with a frown on her face. "I said I'd take care of Teddy, and I'm stuck here with him, not that I mind being with Teddy but…" Ginny had a quizzical look behind the frown.

"Have you told Harry how you feel, Ginny? Have you asked Harry how he feels?" asked Molly.

"No," said Ginny. "Is this more marriage advice, Mum?"

Molly nodded her head.

That evening at dinner, Harry and Ginny talked about each other's days. At the end of the meal Molly quietly said to Ginny, "You were going to tell Harry how you feel when he leaves in the morning, remember."

Ginny nodded. Harry looked at Ginny, expecting her to start to talk, but she just frowned and sat there thinking. Ginny finally said, "Can we go up to the room? I don't want to talk here, with everybody else around." Harry picked up Teddy, and he and Ginny walked up to the beds that were the closest thing to a home they had.

As they walked into the Gryffindor common room, they noticed that the stairs leading to the girls' dorm had been repaired or replaced. The common room had very little evidence of the destruction from the battle left, although one window was obviously patched, and there was one portrait that was obviously not right.

Harry put Teddy down in his crib and sat on the bed. He looked at Ginny and waited for her to start. Ginny stood looking at Harry, not sure what to say. The last thing she wanted to do was to complain, to look like a weak female. Ginny had always prided herself on being tough, and it was not that she could not handle Teddy. After Death Eaters, Teddy was easy! The problem was that Ginny did not know what she felt.

Harry finally said, "'Never leave me' isn't exactly working out, is it?"

"You're back every night," said Ginny with a frown on her face.

"So far," said Harry. Ginny looked at Harry, and sighed.

"I'll have to be gone overnight from time to time," said Harry tentatively. "I have to go to the continent with Bill tomorrow, and I'll be back late." Ginny sighed again.

"It really didn't work out when you had Teddy along," said Harry pleadingly. Ginny shook her head 'no' to agree with Harry.

"It didn't work all that well when you left Teddy that one day," Harry added.

Ginny looked at Harry, looked at her engagement ring, looked at Harry again and then looked a long time at her ring. Finally, she got just the smallest hint of her famous smirk and said, "Oh, I'd say that day worked out ujust fine./u" She sort of smiled, then got a frown on her face again. "It was awfully hard on Teddy, though. I really do not want to put Teddy through that again."

"I am so thrilled you are taking care of Teddy," said Harry again, meaning just as much this time just as all of the others. He tried to tell her how he felt every day. "I come back here at night, and it's like an instant family I never had, a loving family. It feels good to hold Teddy, but the best part is that you are waiting for me. The most beautiful witch in the world waiting for me."

"You're happy?" asked Ginny, with the smallest hint of a frown on her face.

"It's really busy, and I don't know everything that's going on," said Harry, his face showing a little uncertainty, "but people keep telling me that what we are doing is very important. So that's good, and I feel good I'm helping. I'm just a little tired, a little weary. I kind of would like a holiday, and it surely looks like we're not going to get one for a while. No one else can rest either though, so I can't complain."

"How do you feel about leaving me?" asked Ginny.

"I'd rather have you with me," said Harry, earnestly. "We'll spend a lifetime together, but it won't be one long vacation."

"I guess not," said Ginny ruefully.

"I love you, Ginny," said Harry. "I love every moment we spend together. It's just that we can't run away from what we have to do."

"Hold me, Harry, while we have a chance," said Ginny, as she climbed onto the bed and went to hold onto Harry. They held each other for quite a while before Teddy woke up and needed to be fed again.


	10. Ch 10Bodyguards and a Hostage

Bodyguards and a Hostage HPFF Ch 10

* * *

_Harry James Potter, something is bothering you!" exclaimed Ginny. "You can't fool me. Out with it."_

"Unless we find them first, I expect she will suffer unimaginable torture and be killed," Sue said sadly.

"We need to do something RIGHT NOW to save Megan's sister!" Ginny exclaimed.

"How?" asked Al.

* * *

Harry and Ginny got up at about 6:00 AM on Wednesday, and after changing and feeding Teddy, went down to breakfast. To Ginny, but also the rest of the family, Harry said, "I'm going to be back very late tonight."

Ginny looked a little tired and said, "Maybe I can get enough sleep for a change. I don't think I've had enough sleep since I started taking care of Teddy."

Molly looked sympathetically at Ginny and said, "You should be able to take a nice nap this afternoon, dear."

"Yes, Ginny dear, put Teddy down for a nap so you can get some sleep," a grinning George said.

Charlie jumped in with, "Ginny, Ronny, I don't care what time it is, it's time for your nap. You older boys, into your bedrooms right now, and I'm putting a locking spell on them so you can't get out and get into trouble!"

George looked at Ron and started, "Do-" and Ron joined in with, "-we have to?"

Charlie stood up and put his hands on his hips, took one hand off and wagged it at Ginny, Ron and George, doing his best to imitate his mother as he said, "You get into your bedrooms right now if you know what's good for you."

"Yes, Mum," intoned Ron and George together. Molly was smiling. Angelina was almost falling off her chair, she was laughing so hard.

"You put us down for naps so YOU could rest?" asked Ginny, realization setting in.

"Self-defense, dear. As I've always told young mothers, 'Sleep when the baby does, any opportunity you get,'" Molly said.

It looked like Ginny was beginning to get mad, but then she looked at Teddy and sort of relaxed. There was some good advice in what her mother just said.

"My Mum never ever locked me in my room," volunteered Hermione.

"What did she do when she needed a nap?" asked Ron.

"She and I took a nap together," Hermione responded.

"And what if you woke up first?" asked Ron.

"I played nicely until Mum woke up," Hermione answered. Molly rolled her eyes and shook her head at this answer.

"Wait till you have a bunch of unruly children," said George to Hermione, who got a horrified look on her face.

Ron looked at Hermione. Hermione looked at George with daggers in her eyes, then back at Ron. "Maybe one," she said. After a long pause, she added, "Someday."

Harry kissed Ginny and left for the Ministry with Arthur.

Ginny went upstairs with a sleeping Teddy and took the first of a couple of naps. Her brothers could tease her all they wanted, she just wanted the sleep.

As they arrived at the Ministry, Harry walked with Arthur to his office.

"How is Ginny handling you being gone so much?" asked Arthur.

"She's not happy, but neither of us can see any alternative," Harry responded. "She can't get too mad at me, and it doesn't do much good to get mad at the situation. She's a little touchy, but I think she's always a little touchy."

"Like Molly after you announced your engagement," chuckled Arthur. "Marry a fiery redhead, and you'll always have a little excitement in your life."

"Was Mum a little upset?" asked Harry.

Arthur wagged his finger in the typically Molly Weasley fashion, and laughing, started in with, "Don't you Mollywobbles me, Arthur Weasley." Arthur put his hands in the air and with an amused expression said, "Oh, I'd say she started out more than a little upset. When she found out I'd given you permission to ask Ginny to marry you, she was more than a little upset, but she calmed down."

"Is that what living with Ginny is going to be like?" asked Harry, imagining proverbial eggshells strewn across the floors of his home.

"Just be calm when she's mad," said Arthur, laughing and still in a jovial mood. "She's a good person, like her mother, just a little touchy sometimes, like her mother." Arthur patted Harry on the back, saying, "Ah, the joy of living with a fiery redhead."

At about this time, Bill showed up, and the two soon-to-be brothers-in-law left for their meetings in Europe, along with Kreacher and a witch from the Treasury Department of the Ministry. Arthur also had an Auror from France go with them, explaining, "I was serious when I said that there are witches and wizards who would like to kill Harry or any of the Weasley family. There should be more permanent security for everybody soon."

Bill said, "We are going to be going through the Ministry Floo to Switzerland, where a lot of the regional Floos come together. From there we are going to a small section of a country that used to be part of Yugoslavia. Wizarding countries are not always the same as Muggle countries, and this is a small section of a small country. We are trying to take care of three estates, all of families killed at about the same time." As Bill was talking, they were going through the Floo to a very large room with lots of Floos plus what looked like carpets where people were appearing and disappearing.

"What are those?" asked Harry.

"A variation of magic carpet that works sort of like a Floo," said Bill. "They aren't legal in England, but they are really common in the Mid-East. Hard to carry a fireplace around in a tent."

"It's like a big train station," Harry remarked.

"It is," said Bill, as they went through yet another Floo and appeared in what looked like a modest-sized house. They were greeted by a bored looking witch, who briefly glanced at their paperwork and waved them through. Bill looked at a map, walked outside and led them to what looked like a very small branch of Gringotts. When they got to the bank, it was just as tiny on the inside as on the outside, with four goblins tending the bank. The vaults were in what looked like a basement, not under the city like the bank in London.

Harry had to do the spells to open two of the three estates. As usual, once the vaults were opened, Harry really did not have a lot to do unless something else needed opening. While the others worked on financial details, Harry had a chance to look through the vaults, where he could see photographs and other evidence that these were real people who'd been killed.

Finally, one of the goblins said, "Mr. Potter, I can take care of the last estate with you."

"Why just me?" said Harry. "I thought all of these were complex, and Bill and the others had to be involved."

"It's a simple estate," said the goblin. "They were a nice family; poor, but nice. It was a big family too. Lord Voldemort comes and kills off two small nasty but rich families. And old Shevchenko gets in the way. Voldemort has all four generations; twenty five people assemble and he kills them all. He has his agents get their estates too."

"Twenty five people?" asked Harry, horrified at the number.

The goblin muttered, "Babies, children, parents, grandparents, he killed them all. He started with the baby and worked up to grandparents. All for what? A puny estate?"

"Is there anything I can do?" asked Harry. He felt slightly ashamed. As awful as he felt about what had happened to the family, he also felt profound relief that he hadn't watched Voldemort do it in his mind's eye.

"Take the estate, so that I don't have to see it any more," said the goblin, fairly pleading now. He walked over to a wall behind the desks. On the wall were what looked to Harry like shoe boxes of various sizes, with names on them. The goblin went to the section with the smallest boxes and took out one with the name Shevchenko on it.

The goblin then said, "There was no property, no one owned much. Landlords took what little was in the houses for back rent. The cemetery buried them for free. Creditors forgave very few debts. The whole estate consists of one photograph and pocket change." The goblin opened the box. Inside there was a nice photograph of the whole family, from the baby to the grandparents, all very shabbily dressed but all very happy, waving at him. There was also a small bag of coins. "For out-of-country estates, we're supposed to charge fifty galleons just for the handling. But goblins can charge less for very small estates." The goblin counted out four ten galleon coins and then four knuts. "I will charge one knut. Take the estate." He then gave Harry the bag with forty Galleons, three Knuts and the photograph.

Harry looked at the little bag of coins. He thought, 'twenty five people, a whole family, died for this?' There really wasn't any justification for killing for any amount of money, but to think that twenty five people had died, and that all that was left was one photograph and this little bag of coins was just especially tragic.

Harry had to sign some documents, and the estate was closed.

They were not able to get away from the little bank until after a way too long dinner. On the way back, Harry told Bill the story. "What do I do with this?' Harry asked, showing Bill the photograph and the small bag of coins.

"It will cost your estate, the people taking care of your money, close to fifty Galleons to record this little estate," said Bill. "It's pocket change."

"It's twenty five people!" said Harry indignantly.

"These estates and several others had their families killed within two months of your parents' deaths, Harry," said Bill. "Not the biggest or the most sensible. It's like Riddle had gone crazy killing just before he killed your parents."

"Why is Kreacher along?" asked Harry, not feeling entirely comfortable with the situation but knowing there was little he could do about it. He put the bag in his robes and decided that it should be for something special, something that would be meaningful somehow to someone.

"It's hard for goblins to lie to the head house-elf of a witch or wizard. Kreacher is your head house-elf, so he keeps the goblins honest," Bill replied.

"Thank you, Kreacher, for helping Bill," Harry said. "Keep working for Bill on these estate problems, please."

Kreacher looked at Harry and then turned away, mumbling to himself, "Subversive, subversive, changing everythings." The old elf then got a big grin on his face as he looked back at Harry.

* * *

Shortly after lunch, Ginny was in her usual place, pacing around next to the Floo in the main hall while Teddy was sleeping nearby. Suddenly two couples came through the Floo. "We are looking for Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley," said one.

"I am Ginny Weasley," said Ginny. "I'm engaged to Harry Potter. Harry and my brother Bill are in Europe all day."

"I'm Jim Shook, and this is my wife Sue," said Jim.

"I'm David Williamson," said the other man, "and this is my wife Kim. We are here to keep you and Harry safe."

"What do you mean 'keep us safe?'" asked Ginny. "Are we in that much danger?"

"Al VanLente, the head of the International Auror Association, thinks you are," said David.

"So what are you going to do?" asked a cautious Ginny.

"We're all Aurors, and one of us is going to guard each of you all the time," said Sue. "You are going to get to know Kim and me, Sue, very well, and Harry is going to get to know Jim and David."

"Where did you come from?" asked Ginny, noticing the accents that she couldn't quite place.

"We're from North America," said Sue. "We are different than most of the Aurors in that we are willing to try and blend in with your life and become bodyguards. I understand that the Harry Potter Estates is paying for us, not the Ministry."

"How old are you?" asked Ginny. "You don't look all that old."

"Jim and I are twenty seven, David and Kim are twenty nine," said Sue. "We're not all that old. We all attended the Los Angeles School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and even though we were two years apart, we became friends. We both went to the San Francisco College of Witchcraft and Wizardry before becoming Aurors."

"There is a school like Hogwarts in North America?" asked Ginny, realizing that it probably sounded like a silly question, considering how large the continent was.

"There is nothing quite like Hogwarts in North America," said Sue. "Los Angeles is really pretty modern, pretty big too. The school in New Mexico is really Indian, smaller than L.A., maybe as big as Hogwarts. The school in Salem on the east coast is real old for North America, but wooden buildings, maybe a little bigger than Hogwarts. And Montreal is sort of old urban, with classes in French as well as English."

"Four schools?" asked Ginny.

"Well, there is supposed to be one in New Orleans," said David, "but it's sort of tied into Voodoo and black magic, and the rest of the schools do not have much to do with it. I understand we kind of know where it is, but the relationship is real difficult."

"What is Voodoo?" asked Ginny.

David responded, "Bad, dark magic. There is something really evil in the Caribbean. I don't know too much about it, but I do know that Al and the International Aurors Association are real concerned and that we lose undercover Aurors there on a regular basis."

"I'm glad that it's a long way away from us," said Ginny.

"I don't expect it will ever cause you any problems," David replied reassuringly.

"Where are you staying?" Ginny asked. "The dorm is getting pretty crowded."

Sue answered, "We've been told that there is a two bedroom suite at Hogwarts we can stay in. Within a week or so there will be an apartment building in London that will have several magical floors for the foreign Aurors."

"And you're going to follow us around?" asked Ginny again.

"Well, sort of," said Sue.

"What do you mean, 'sort of?'" asked Ginny, beginning to get a little irritated.

Sue hesitated. The other three Aurors looked at her, and finally Sue started in again, "Well, not into your home, not all the time. Well, we are supposed to guard your homes, but Al is mostly concerned when you go out, like in public, like you are here at Hogwarts but not into your bedroom or anything like …"

"I'm not sharing my bedroom with any Auror!" Ginny exclaimed forcefully, cutting Sue off mid-sentence. She then thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Except for Harry when he becomes an Auror, I guess." Ginny paused and everybody looked awkwardly at each other. "I guess I'm glad you're going to be protecting Harry. I guess he is still a target for the Death Eaters. I'm not sure why you have to guard me. It sounds like an awful lot of bother, for me as well as you."

"Al doesn't always tell us why he has us doing some things," Sue said apologetically. "He's just very concerned with your safety and that of Harry Potter."

Sue stayed with Ginny for the rest of the day, and even went into the bedroom in the Gryffindor common room to see it but promised that, if at all possible, the Aurors would not go any further than the Gryffindor common room. The other Aurors explored the castle and seemed to be otherwise occupied.

Harry got back very late. He noticed someone unfamiliar awake in the Gryffindor common room but didn't think much about it. Ginny was already asleep but awoke enough to give Harry a long kiss, before going back to sleep.

* * *

Thursday, May 14 Harry woke up at about six-thirty, and Ginny woke up with him. "I got a couple of naps yesterday, Harry," volunteered Ginny. "I feel rested for maybe the first time since I started taking care of Teddy. I don't suppose it will last, but it feels pretty good."

"That's fantastic, Ginny," Harry replied. "Now it's my turn to be a little short of sleep."

"When did you get back?" asked Ginny, vaguely recalling his arrival the previous night.

"I got to bed at about one," a slightly groggy Harry said. "And I think I had just gotten to sleep at one thirty when Teddy woke up, and I changed him and gave him to you. I sort of remember changing him once or twice more last night, but I'm not sure."

"Something is bothering you, Harry," Ginny said, seeing something in his demeanor other than just the lack of sleep. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I want to use the loo first," Harry declared, not untruthfully.

"Teddy is asleep, and I need to use it too. No problem if we go together. The stalls are separate, after all," Ginny replied. She got some clothes and the supplies she needed to refill the nursing bra and pulled Harry along to the loo. There was a sign on the door that showed if males or females were in the room. "I wonder what the door will show when we are both in here?" asked Ginny, giggling. Hermione had put that charm on all of the bathroom doors, since both sexes seem to be sharing the facilities.

Ginny was in and out of the stall she was in promptly. When Harry came out, Ginny was dressed in her knickers and her nursing bra, doing the charms to fill it up. Harry looked away. Ginny popped out with, "You might as well look at them, Harry. It's nothing you haven't seen before, and you're going to see a lot more of me before long."

Harry went over to Ginny, trying to look her in the face but looking down at the expanding bra as the milk went into it. "They get bigger and heavier as they fill up," Ginny explained. "Mum says the same thing happens when you are nursing, but the milk fills up inside of you instead of from the outside. I can surely see and feel the difference between the morning when these things are full and late in the afternoon. Can you see any difference?"

Harry had noticed that Ginny was bigger on top the first thing in the morning, both when looking at her and when they were snogging. It was hard not to; she was pretty big first thing in the morning. Her front just stuck out further in the morning. As he was contemplating Ginny's figure, his pants were getting tight, and he needed to adjust his boxers. As he did so Ginny smiled and said, "I'm glad you noticed. Mum got birth control potions for me just so… Well, she said so that I get used to taking them, but I think it's actually because she wants me to finish Hogwarts and not get pregnant before the wedding," then, giving Harry one of her famous snarky smiles, "just in case." By this time Ginny had finished with the bra, and before putting on a blouse, gave Harry a big hug.

Ginny finished getting dressed, and they left the bathroom. Percy and Ron were standing there waiting to use the loo, and when they saw Harry and Ginny come out together, gave both of them a long, blank stare. Harry was embarrassed, but Ginny just said dismissively, "We both needed to use the loo. It's not like we were using the same one." Harry and Ginny then went back into the bedroom, and when they got there other people were stirring, including Teddy.

Ginny took Teddy in her hands to feed him, and he clamped on and started to nurse greedily. Once Teddy was nursing, Ginny looked at Harry and said, "Do you want to tell me about it?"

"I'll be all right" said Harry.

"Harry James Potter, something is bothering you!" exclaimed Ginny. "You can't fool me. Out with it."

Harry took out the photograph and the little bag. "Sometimes I think all Bill deals with is money and legal issues. I have to break the curses, but then all of the high finance is over my head, and I don't care that much about it anyway. So I get a chance to go through the vaults, and I'm always reminded that these were real people that were killed, whole families that were wiped out."

"There must have been something especially bad yesterday, Harry," Ginny responded, with concern on her face and in her voice.

Harry gave Ginny the photograph. "Twenty five people killed because one of them got in Riddle's way. Twenty five people for what?" Harry dumped out the coins. "Forty galleons and four knuts, with one knut for the bank. The entire estate, forty galleons, four knuts and twenty five people were killed for that! Every family killed is a tragedy, but this is such a terrible waste, so many people killed for what?"

"Oh, Harry," said Ginny. They looked at each other for a while and then sat side by side touching as Ginny nursed Teddy, and Harry snoozed. There really was not much more to say.

Harry and Ginny walked down the stairs at a little after seven in the morning, with Ron and Hermione following close behind. As they got down to the common room, both Auror couples got up and waved a greeting at Ginny. Jim Shook said, "Good Morning, Harry Potter. I am Jim Shook, and this is my wife Sue. We are North American Aurors assigned to protect you and Ginny. We are going to be watching you today."

David Williamson then spoke up, saying, "I'm David Williamson, and this is my wife Kim. We are the other Auror couple assigned to protect you. Your Minister of Magic and our boss Al VanLente wanted good twenty-four hour protection for both of you."

"Why in the world would I need a bodyguard?" asked an irate Harry.

"Maybe because you killed Lord Voldemort?" David responded, stating the obvious.

"Tom Riddle," Harry corrected. "Call him Tom Riddle, not Lord anything. He's dead. I don't need any protection from him."

"All his Death Eaters are not dead, and there are plenty of other people who might want you dead," David responded, more gently now.

"Why?" Harry asked, although now that he thought about it, maybe it was a rhetorical question.

David motioned everybody to come over to a corner of the common room. Ron and Hermione followed, and Harry said, "Ron Weasley and Hermione Grainger were with me on all of my adventures, well most of them, not everything, and they know almost everything I know. No secrets from them or from Ginny. Why would people want to kill me or Ginny?"

"Because you killed," David paused just a moment before saying quite deliberately, "Tom Riddle, and there are plenty of people who want revenge. And because, in some ways, killing or capturing and torturing Ginny would be better revenge than just killing you, Harry."

Ginny got an astonished look on her face at this. Harry tensed up.

Looking around, David then had everyone come closer, and he said quietly, "Too many people know that Albus Dumbledore had the Elder Wand, and that Harry is now the rightful master of it. Even though no one knows for sure where the wand is, the people lusting after it know that they have to kill Harry to take full possession of it."

Jim then said, "The Elder Wand and some other things are important, but we don't know why. Al does not tell us everything."

"Can we talk at breakfast?" asked Harry. "I need to get to work to get money to pay for all you people, and I'm hungry."

"I'm hungry too!" Ron exclaimed.

"You're always hungry, Ronald," Hermione kidded, laughing. But he just shrugged his shoulders and grinned.

When they got down to breakfast, Harry asked the assembled group, "Who is this Al Van-something?"

Hermione butted in with, "I kept hearing about Al VanLente, and I remember reading that last name in history. So I looked up all of the information I could about the VanLente family. Al's grandfather and grandmother, his father and mother and father's brother and his wife all fought in the battle against Gellert Grindelwald and the Muggle World War II. Al's grandparents, uncle and aunt lost their life. His mother was hurt but lived, although she died early for a witch. His dad Bert is still alive. All of them received the highest awards they could from Muggle and Magical authorities, including Legions of Honor from France, Britain awards of some sort, the Medal of Honor from the US, and other medals from other Muggle countries, Orders of Merlin and a host of other magical awards.

"After the war Bert VanLente became head of the International Auror Association, the group that enforces the Statute of Secrecy among other things. His son Al followed in his footsteps, and Al is here in Britain. There are supposed to be a lot more Aurors here soon."

Jim said, "All the North American Aurors that are going to be working for the Ministry, forty in total, should be here today. They are bringing a couple of house-elves that work as Auror Assistants as well. By next week, there should be a dozen from France and a dozen from China. We're not included in that total. I understand that our paychecks are going to come from a Fleur Weasley, paid for by the estates that Harry has inherited."

Both Harry and Ginny were thinking the same thing. 'I am glad someone is watching him/her, but I don't need a bodyguard.'

After Harry left, a young man came through the Floo. Ginny thought he looked like he could almost be her mother's brother. She was shaken when the man said, "Hello, my name is Patrick Prewett. I'm one of the American Aurors, and I'm supposed to see Minerva McGonagall and Molly Prewett Weasley. Who are you?"

Ginny's voice caught in her throat and she stared at Patrick as though he'd just turned into a hippogriff. This man's red hair, slim nose and wide face practically shouted "Prewitt." She finally choked out, answered "I'm Ginny Weasley, and Molly is my mother."

Patrick smiled at the baby, who was dressed in clothes that advertised that he was a boy, and asked, "Who is that little man?"

Ginny, warming to the man quickly, said, "Teddy Lupin. His parents were both killed in the Battle of Hogwarts. My fiancé Harry Potter is his godfather, and we are taking care of him right now."

Patrick got a big smile on his face, looked approvingly at Ginny and said, "Mom said something about you. She saw the Daily Prophet article that referred to you as 'poor little Ginny Weasley,' and said, "if she has any Prewett in her, Harry doesn't stand a chance.'" As he finished his remarks Patrick was laughing.

This caused Ginny to get a huge victory smile on her face and join in the merriment of the moment.

"I'll take you to Professor McGonagall's office," said Ginny, and she walked with Patrick. She didn't say anything else, but just looked at this man walking along side of her with a great big smile. When they got to the office, Patrick addressed the headmistress and said, "Your cousin Fiona, my mother, gives you her greetings. Once Voldemort was killed, she felt safe letting you know she has been alive and living in the US. All the wards keeping you from talking about her are removed, and you can share with Molly Weasley what you know.'

Minerva said, "Oh dear. We had better go find Molly. I think she is working with Neville and Hanna on fixing some of the grounds that were damaged in the battle."

They went outside and found Molly. Minerva said, "Why don't I go first."

Then she said, "Molly, before your brother Fabian was killed, he married a cousin of mine, Fiona McGonagall. Fabian sent her to safety in the U.S. as soon as he realized that she was pregnant. I am sorry I never told you, but Fiona and Fabian made the few of us that knew swear to secrecy. It looks like this is Fabian's son Patrick."

Patrick said, "Hi, Mrs. Weasley. I know that I am probably a big shock to you, but when Voldemort was killed, Mom said it was time to go back and meet my relatives. I am honored to meet you."

Molly stood there stunned, in fact it looked like she might pass out. Minerva quickly conjured up a chair, and pushed Molly into it. She put her head in her hands, then looked at Patrick and Minerva and Patrick again. "I think too much has happened the last few weeks." Molly said faintly.

Finally, after a few deep breaths and swiping at a few stray tears, she stood up and said, "Welcome to the family. Welcome back. How long are you staying?" As she was saying this she was giving Patrick one of the big Molly Weasley hugs. This time she let the tears run down her cheeks as she patted her nephew's back as though to assure herself that he was real. After all of this time, a part of her long-lost brother was here.

When Patrick extracted himself from Molly's hug, he said, "The Ministry thinks the Weasley family needs protection and who better than a cousin? So you're stuck with me for a while."

After a brief conversation, Molly sent Ginny and Patrick back, telling Ginny to fill Patrick in on the family. While she had dozens of first cousins on the Weasley side, she'd never had one on the Prewitt side. It was an amazing way to spend the day and a nice distraction from Harry's absence.

Late in the morning, Hermione saw Ginny and Patrick, and Ginny introduced them. Hermione then asked, "What do you know about Megan Jones?"

Ginny thought for a few moments and replied, "She wasn't here last year, but her little sister was. I don't remember her name, but I think she was sorted into Hufflepuff. Why do you ask?"

"She said she needed to find her sister's things but also asked about you and Harry. She seemed concerned when she found out that Harry was gone and might not be back until later. She really seemed nervous."

Ginny thought it seemed odd somehow. She'd never been terribly close to Megan. It was mostly just short conversations about classes and small talk. But she guessed that a lot of people might be asking after her and Harry now that they were engaged. After all, it wasn't often that a hero of the Wizarding community settled down.

* * *

Harry and Bill had the first chance to have lunch alone in some time. "We are going to be done early today," Bill said. "My work isn't done, but I don't need you after one more vault today."

"Is it getting easier and quicker to get into vaults and find things?" asked Harry.

"It is," Bill replied. "There are a lot of very difficult-to-break curses that involve things that happen after you die, and Riddle could never face contemplating his own demise. That's making my work easier. The formal betrothal is helping too, although I have to set up many of the vaults so that when you and Ginny do get married, I will be able to get back into them."

"Why don't we just get married now, and then wait to have sex when Ginny turns seventeen? Would that solve your problems?" Harry asked.

Bill gave Harry a puzzled look and seemed to think hard for several moments. "A lot of my curse-breaking has had to do with estates, and because of that I have had to learn a lot about marriages. A Wizarding marriage is not exactly like a Muggle marriage, at least not a British marriage. Once all of the spells are said, it cannot be broken. That's not completely a good thing; I've seen a number of real tragedies because of it.

A valid marriage needs two things. The first is the commitment of the two people. You and Ginny have fulfilled that by signing the formal betrothal papers. It will be better if you go through with the ceremony and have the marriage spells performed. But if a new Riddle showed up on your wedding day and you had to escape with Ginny, you could consider yourself married anyway. Then you could get the spells and ceremony whenever.

The second thing absolutely necessary is sex. If you don't have sex with my sister you are not married."

"Why are we waiting?" asked Harry, thinking how bloody difficult it was to sleep next to Ginny every night but not get into bed and, and, and stop being so horny!

"Why ARE you waiting?" asked Bill.

"I promised your mum and dad" Harry said, his face resigned.

"Do your best, Harry, and good luck," Bill said. "No one would blame you if you could not wait, but it would be better if you did."

"Are you and your brothers betting on if we can wait or not?" a grinning Harry asked Bill, suddenly suspicious of the turn the conversation had taken.

Bill looked askance at Harry. "If Mum found out one of us bet that you couldn't wait, can you imagine her reaction? Curse of the Pharaohs' and Merlin's tombs, would that be one angry woman."

* * *

Harry was done with his business with Bill and the banks at about 2:00 PM. Bill had an owl directing him to send Harry back to Hogwarts and to wait for A.E. Van Lente and family. Before Harry left, he asked Bill why he needed guarding, and Bill just insisted Harry had to talk to Al.

Harry and Jim Shook went back to Hogwarts, and as they did, Harry asked, "Why is this Al VanLente so paranoid about my safety?

Jim answered, "I have no idea why Al is so paranoid about you except what we shared this morning, Voldemort and all."

"Riddle," Harry insisted. "Tom Riddle."

"Tom Riddle," Jim replied, smiling at the young man's persistence.

"Hello, Harry," Ginny beamed as she saw Harry come through the Floo. "You're back early!"

"We have to wait for this Al VanLente, who seems to be responsible for people following us around," Harry said. Harry looked at the list (the Ministry was still sending a list of who was coming through the Floo) and saw Albert E. Van Lente on it.

"You heard Hermione this morning. She gave us a little of his family history, his parents and grandparents, but not much about what he does now," said Harry.

Jim explained, "Al is the head of the International Auror Association, the group that sends foreign Aurors into troubled regions. He is also the manager of any North American Aurors that are off on assignment and one of the three Associate Heads of Aurors in North America. He and his family are also the best people in the world to go into a troubled region and figure out what is wrong and how to solve it. He'll find out what has gone on and what needs to be done. Al can be a little overwhelming at first, but he's a good person."

This was the first introduction to a family that would be professional and personal friends of the Potters for years, generations actually. A short time later, Al came through the Floo.

He turned out to be a large-boned man, standing a little over six foot tall, with the slightest hint of a middle-age paunch. He was, Harry learned, 60 years old, although he looked younger. He had very light blond hair, which was combed straight back and turning to white at the temples.

Al knew just who Harry Potter was, went up to him and in a loud booming voice said, "Harry Potter! How the hell are you!"

Harry, somewhat taken aback by the abrupt greeting, said, "Good afternoon, Mr. Van Lente."

Al shot back, "Call me Al, Harry. Knew your father. Taller than you, one of the best wizards I ever met. He could be an arrogant son of a bitch, though."

Harry thought that this was not the first time he had heard of his father's arrogance. No one else spoke of it with such frankness or for that matter, such frank good humor. In fact, it seemed as though the wizard was impressed by James's arrogance.

Al's voice softened somewhat as he continued, "Your mother was one of the nicest people I ever knew, and from what I have heard the last week and a half, you've inherited her kindness. You have her kind eyes."

Then he completely changed his manner to be more business-like. "The Ministry is in a hell of a fix, Harry. Still getting vandalism and some attacks on non-purebloods. Goddamn bureaucrats have all these silly rules. Wizarding Britain and especially the Ministry seem to be stuck in the 19th century. You grew up in a Muggle household. Did you have any problem with electric lights?"

Harry shook his head no, wondering what electric lights had to do with anything.

Al continued, "Not a goddamn electric light in the place. Everything dark and dingy. Everyone left over from last year either incompetent or scared. Hell of a fix.

"Harry, I need to hear your story. I listened when you told what you could to the Ministry and others, but you left a hell of a lot out!"

"I really ought to have Ron and Hermione here to tell the story. Hermione has an outline that should help," said Harry, unsure of how he felt about this loud, brash and more than a little overbearing man.

Jim said he would Floo to WWW to get Ron, and Sue left to find Hermione. Meanwhile, Al kept questioning Harry about his childhood and early years at Hogwarts. Ginny winced at Al's swearing. Al eventually saw that he was making Ginny uncomfortable. The "God" references immediately dropped, and the "f" word was no longer used, but Al's language stayed somewhat profane and colorful.

Ron and Hermione eventually arrived, and there were more introductions. Ginny changed Teddy and sat back to nurse him.

Al wanted Harry to start with his first year at Hogwarts, and Harry started to tell his story. Ginny was fascinated by the back and forth. Harry asked Al plenty of questions. Why did he want to know this? What was the significance of that?

When they got to the second year and Riddle's dairy, Al told Harry, "I need a lot more detail on what happened with the diary."

"I don't want to say too much," Harry said firmly. "Professor Dumbledore indicated that some of what went on should stay confidential."

"We need to go somewhere where we can be private," Al indicated, realizing that these young people already had a good handle on security of information.

As they got up to leave, Ginny noticed Megan Jones coming towards her and gave her a huge smile and wave. Megan had a very worried look on her face and took out her wand. Immediately, Sue Shook grabbed Megan's wand, took it away and was talking to her. Jim was over next to them almost immediately, and then he came over to Al and whispered something.

Hermione said, "Megan was looking for Harry and Ginny earlier."

Ron said, "Acting suspicious, if you ask me. Really dodgy. Wouldn't say why she wanted to see you."

Al said, "The young lady has a problem, but Sue is taking care of it."

They went into a classroom, and Al secured it so that they were very private. The only people there were Al, Harry, Ginny, Teddy, Ron, and Hermione.

"I know the dairy was a Horcrux, Harry," Al said, eliciting horrified gasps from all directions. "Albus and I were very good friends. If all else failed, the International Aurors were going to have to try and take out Voldemort, and we had to know he had created a Horcrux to have any chance of defeating him."

"Call him Tom Riddle," Harry insisted. He clarified Al's statement, "If he still had even one Horcrux left you couldn't kill him."

Al chuckled. "Albus always wanted us to call him Tom Riddle, at least anything besides 'You-Know-Who' or 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.' Maybe we could have captured Riddle, kept him in prison. The dairy is important, Harry. Do you think that if you had not succeeded in getting rid of the Horcrux, Riddle would have come back to life as a young man?"

"Probably," said Harry. "In some ways, a young Tom Riddle with all of the memories of the old Tom Riddle would really have been frightening. I'm not sure if the figure that came out of the diary would have had the adult Tom Riddle's memory though. He only knew of my story because of, well because he'd learned of it."

"There are plenty of things we will never know," Al replied, more to himself than the others. But he was prepared to take Harry's word, knowing that he was probably the most knowledgeable about Riddle, certainly more than anyone else, including Albus Dumbledore at this point.

Harry and Hermione went over the things that happened at Malfoy Manor and with Dobby's death. "You buried Dobby?" asked Al. "And cried over him? And made a marker for him?"

"Of course!" said Harry. "What else would you do?"

"And Griphook the goblin saw you?" asked Al, looking far more interested about a house-elf and goblin than the others would expect, considering their conversation.

"Harry would go out and look at Dobby's grave, and sometimes even cry a little," said Hermione, looking sad to remember that period of time. "Griphook could not believe it. I'm not sure Harry noticed how shocked Griphook was as much as I did. And I said that of course Harry would grieve. We all felt that Dobby was a being deserving of respect like any being!'"

"The relationship between wizards and other beings has been under strain for centuries," Al said. "You burying and crying over Dobby may be one of the little stones that are starting an avalanche in changing the relationships between the different beings in our world."

"I hope so!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I hope so as well," said Al sincerely. "But you can never tell how a revolution will turn out, and there can be plenty of problems along the way. I just hope we do more building than destroying."

"The house-elf revolution is not going to end up hurting them, is it?" asked Hermione, her face a show of deep concern.

"Revolutions are never neat nor easy," said Al. "But in general it's a good thing."

At 7:30, they broke for dinner, and Al ate with the large group that was now eating in the Great Hall. At 9:00, they went back to the story. It was not until 11:00 PM that they were to the final duel, with lots of fill-in bits not mentioned. They would have been there a week otherwise.

"I always knew those 'things' you had to destroy must have been Horcruxes," said Al, with a slightly satisfied tone. "Only thing I know that acts like that. Riddle was a damn fool to think he could safely use those. Can I see the Invisibility Cloak?"

Harry showed him the cloak.

"Where is the third Hallow; the ring that Albus had, the Resurrection Stone?"

Harry looked at Al in silence for some time, and Ron and Hermione glared at him as well. Finally, Harry said, "We will not talk about these."

Al retorted, "We will and at some length, but obviously not now. I'm on your side." He looked at all four of them and very clearly said, "And I understand both how powerful these objects are and how dangerous they are. I have no desire to possess them. Remind me of that if I ever ask for them. I don't think they would be safe in my hands. I just have to warn you that once you do possess them getting rid of them, even if you want to, is not always easy. It's late. I will see you, Harry, next week, and I want to get together with all four of you again soon."

"Before you go," Harry said, "why am I in so much danger?"

"It's a real complicated question," Al responded.

"TRY," said Harry, feeling like he was fifteen again and trying to get Dumbledore to look him in the eye. "What is going on that has you so worried?"

"Let me give you a little history, Harry, Ginny," said Al. "There are things prophets know and things they don't know. There are things that can make prophesies not come true. One of the chief problems is hubris, thinking that because good things have been foretold for you, nothing can go wrong. And then you get killed or otherwise do something stupid, making the prophesy impossible to fulfill. Albus thought that you would probably survive, Harry, but the few of us who sort of knew what was going on thought that if you were absolutely confident of your own survival, you would probably do something stupid and get killed."

"I had to be scared?" asked Harry.

"I still want you scared," said Al gruffly. "There were prophesies that our family would survive the war against Gellert Grindelwald, and we did, as a family. My father and mother survived, although grandfather, grandmother, my uncle and aunt were killed, and my mother was wounded physically and mentally. We did survive, sort of. And I know of plenty of prophesies that did not come true because of hubris."

"But why me?" asked Harry.

"Harry, please trust me," said Al, wincing as he said it. He knew how hard of a life that this young man had already led. "You are at the center of some prophesies and some other threads, but it would take way too long to tell you what and why. Some of what we are dealing with did not appear until you killed Riddle, and a lot of it is still developing. If we can keep you alive and unhurt, there should be good things ahead for you and Ginny, but for now you just have to trust me."

"That's not a very satisfactory answer," Harry replied, not bothering to hide his annoyance.

"Hell, Harry, I'm unsatisfied," Al complained. "A few prophets and I can see the signs of the times as well as anyone. Albus was an expert at reading them, and we all missed key things and got other things wrong. You want me to tell you what I…don't…know! Damn it all, Harry, stay safe so we can figure all this out!"

"I don't believe anyone would try to kill us!" Ginny exclaimed.

Al saw Sue Shook and said to her, "Could you tell our friends what you were doing with the young lady?"

"Sit down, please," Sue said. "This is real serious, and I am afraid, sad news. The young lady, Megan Jones has a sister that was in the first year at Hogwarts. When the school was evacuated, she was apparently captured. The people who captured her told Megan and her parents that unless Megan killed one of Harry Potter's friends, (Ginny would be best but any of the Weasley family would do) they would torture her sister Nora and kill her.

To her credit, Megan could not do it. She was glad she was caught. I do not expect she will be punished by the Ministry, although she will be watched."

"What will happen to her sister?" Ginny asked in horror.

"Unless we find them first, I expect she will suffer unimaginable torture and be killed," Sue said sadly.

"We need to do something RIGHT NOW to save Megan's sister!" Ginny exclaimed, pulling out her wand to indicate her readiness for action.

"How?" asked Al VanLente. "We do not know who the kidnappers are or where they are located. We do not know if they are the same people that took Pansy Parkinson or a different group, or even if Pansy was kidnapped. Pansy's parents are not being very helpful. If you have any ideas, we would be glad to hear them."

"Boggarts!" said Ginny, and the meeting broke up. As they walked back to the dormitory Ginny turned to the three and said, "We have to do something to rescue Nora Jones, Megan's sister! We can't just let her be tortured and killed!"

"I'm going to become an Auror to help take care of just this type of problem, Ginny," Harry replied, feeling much the same way she was at the moment. "But I'm tired of going off on my own, and I don't think it's the safe or the right thing to do. I think it's better if I'm part of the Ministry with the whole Ministry behind me than if I just flail at the problem."

"It doesn't help Nora right now," Ginny said, knowing that there wasn't much they could do to help. "Oh, Harry, I'm worried."

"Blimey, Harry," Ron said glumly. "You're in the center of everything again!"

"Well, I've been reading up on how the Wizarding community is governed, the International Confederation of Witches and Wizards," said Hermione. "It really is interesting."

Ron jumped in with, "We're guarding the Hogsmeade entrance, and I'm trying to act like a good Auror or at least a good guard, and Hermione has her nose in a book!"

"It's not like we're doing much, Ron," said Hermione. "There are not that many people who come in and out the Hogsmeade entrance, although I suppose we do still need to be down there. All of the spells that protect Hogwarts are not fully functional yet, and Professor McGonagall is still worried. So I thought I might as well learn all that I can about how our world is governed."

"What does that have to do with Harry?" asked Ron.

"Well, the International Confederation of Witches and Wizards meets in Switzerland, in a whole magical valley," said Hermione. "The valley is sort of governed by some odd mix of representative government and the family that owns the valley. And now Harry owns the valley. It would be sort of like if Harry owned all of the castles the queen stayed in, and was sort of in line to become prime minister maybe, I don't know. I'm sure I'm not beginning to describe things right. But Voldemort killed the family."

Harry butted in with, "TOM RIDDLE! Call him Tom Riddle. He was just a person, not Lord of anything."

"Tom Riddle," Hermione, rolling her eyes, continued with, "killed the governing family, but he never became head of the valley, and I don't know why. But I suppose Harry will or can, and that's part of why he is so important."

"I think it has more to do with money," said Harry. "I'm the only one who can get into the vaults and get all of the money, at least until I'm married."

"See, it's a good thing we are engaged, Harry," Ginny remarked, smiling sweetly at Harry with a come hither look in her eyes and bearing.

Before they went to bed, Ginny shared her observations with Harry. "Al knows a lot more than I thought he knew, and I bet he found out a lot more than you tried to tell him. What do you think of him?"

Harry thought for a bit. "He is very bright, and he knows much more of the history of the war, and the history of all of the objects than we do. When he said that a lot was changing in the elf-goblin-wizard relationship, he was trying to do more than give me information."

Harry thought some more. "You know, Ginny, in many ways I feel very grown up. I do not feel embarrassed or too young to deal with the financial and estate issues that have been thrust my way. Of course, Bill is doing most of the money stuff, but I can do what I am asked to do. I'm not intimidated by taking care of Teddy. I've even resisted your desire to have sex right now, and you're as intimidating as they come!"

At this, Ginny gave Harry a little shove, and he answered back by kissing her.

Harry then told Ginny, "I thought I could be a good Auror because of how well we did with the DA. But talking to Al is showing me there is a lot more to being a good Auror, or managing Aurors, than I ever thought there was."

Harry and Ginny both went to bed thinking about the rather imposing Al VanLente, wondering how important he was going to be over the next months.


	11. Ch 11 Where do we live

Where do we live? HPFF Ch 11

The discussion over breakfast on Friday the 15th was about going home on Saturday. No one was going to work Saturday. They were all eager to get home, or at least to a home that wasn't Hogwarts.

Molly announced, "The Appledorns and Bayleafs are coming home with us. They may build a house on the property, and Rosemary and I have talked about home-schooling the six children. They may end up staying at Harry's house at Grimmauld Place until their house is built."

Harry said, "You are all welcome to stay at my place. Dad's not sure what kind of shape the Burrow is in."

Everybody looked at Arthur, who explained, "At the very least the Floo is not connected to the network. Everybody has been so busy that I just could not, in good conscience, send someone over to check on my house. I just figured we could all find out together and then make plans accordingly."

Angelina Johnson said, "We are going to make sure the apartments above the stores are ready for people to stay in. That should take care of some of us at least."

* * *

David, Harry's bodyguard, went to Gringotts with Harry, Bill and Fleur. They started out with a little meeting.

"We are making good progress with the British Estates, Harry," said Bill. "Most of the money that's urgently needed and that's available in the British Estates is going to be taken care of during the summer. Between the foreign estates and the tying up of loose ends it is going to take us years to finish, Harry, but the urgency is going to be over by the end of July."

"Remember, I'm supposed to be taking classes starting next month," said Harry. "How am I ever going to study, if I have to work on these estates every day?"

"We should be able to let you study all but a couple of days a week," Bill told Harry. "It looks like we should be able to cut way back on the time we need you when it's time for you to start classes."

Toward the middle of the afternoon, David and Harry were back at the Ministry where the Potter Estates had a little office. Bill and Michael were working on financial matters, but what they were working on was nothing Harry needed to be involved with. David was amazed at the lack of technology in the British magical community. "You were raised in a Muggle household, and you watched Television, used electrical lights. You learned to control your magic so you did not mess up everything electrical or electronic you got near. Everywhere I have gone in the British Magical Community so much magic energy is leaking out everywhere that nothing electrical or electronic works. Harry, do you want to see what I am talking about?" When Harry nodded yes, David took out a small instrument. If Harry had known what an electrical multi-meter was, he would have said it looked like a digital multi-meter. It had various scales for magical power, with a digital readout. In the Ministry the reading was as high as it could be.

They left the Ministry and went into Muggle London. The meter read very little magic. David told Harry to see if he could get the reading lower just by looking at it and trying to feel like he did when he was watching television. With a little practice Harry could get the magic meter to read less magic. They went into an alley where they could do some magic without being seen, and David asked Harry to levitate something, which he did. Then he said, "Now levitate it without so much magic," and Harry was able to focus his magic so that the meter registered at a low level.

David pulled out a mobile, turned it on, called a number and said, "No messages. Harry, cell phones are tricky. One of the great things about being a wizard is the ability to quickly move from one place to another, and nothing messes up the cell phone system better than a cell phone suddenly disappearing in one location and turning up in another. That is why we have special cell phones for the magical community. That is also why we have magical pagers attached to cell phones." When Harry saw the pager and was told how it worked, he pulled out the coin that Hermione had made for the DA and asked if it was similar. David looked at the coin, touched his wand to both the pager and the coin and said, "Hermione Granger made these? She must be a very powerful and bright witch."

"Hermione is really smart," said Harry proudly.

"I cannot understand why the Ministry does not use magic like this," said David, shaking his head with exasperation.

Harry pulled out the business card he had gotten from Griffin and Grunt. He thought there was a Muggle phone number on there and there was. "May I borrow your mobile?" Harry asked.

David handed it over.

"How do you work this?" asked Harry.

David showed Harry how to dial a number, and Harry gingerly pushed the buttons to call the office number. "Griffin and Grunt construction," the man on the other end said.

"Hello, this is Harry Potter," Harry said. "Mr. Grunt said I should call him if I ever needed any construction."

Harry could hear on the other end of the phone: "Mr. Grunt, do you know Harry Potter? … Well, he's on the phone right now, and he wants to talk to you."

"Harry Potter, Grunt here. What can we do for you?" Harry heard a sprightly voice coming out of the mobile.

"My future father-in-law is worried that his house is badly damaged or worse," Harry said. "Can you repair and maybe even expand and improve their house? I can pay for it."

"Remind me what house it is and who your future father-in-law is," Grunt replied.

"The Burrow, Arthur Weasley," Harry answered.

"Mmm … Weasley, Arthur … magically built … hmmm … interesting," Harry heard, as Grunt seemed to be doing something and then, "I'd better take a look. I'll call you back."

Harry could not hear anything more, so he looked at the phone. It had a display that said "call ended."

"Wow, that's magical!" exclaimed Harry. "What kind of magic is that?"

"Muggle magic," David responded. "Doesn't work in an area with too much magic. We can get them to work most places in North America and Hong Kong, much of China too. Britain is particularly bad. Cell phones do not work at Hogwarts or The Ministry or most Wizards' homes."

"How close does someone have to be before you can call them?" asked Harry.

"Oh, distance doesn't matter," David offhandedly remarked. "Anyone in the world who has a phone, cell like this or land line phone, you should be able to call. Billions of telephone numbers."

Harry had never been allowed to use the telephone at the Dursleys' house, and although he had seen mobiles at a distance and on TV and thought Vernon had one, he'd had no idea that you could call anywhere in the world on a mobile. He looked at the little device and remarked, "It must be pretty powerful magic to send your voice around the world."

"Oh, it just sends your voice to the nearest cell tower," David explained. "Then the phone system takes over and finds the number you are calling."

"How does that work?" asked Harry.

"I have no idea," David said. "Muggle magic. I'm still amazed that my brother in North America and my cousin in Hong Kong and I can share a phone call. And it doesn't matter where I am in the world, the network can find me."

Late that afternoon, David's mobile started to vibrate. They were in a magical space, and David said, "I need to step outside to get this call." He came back in a short time later and said, "Harry, it is Mr. Grunt. He needs to talk to you."

Bill looked at the instrument in David's hand. "Mobile?" he asked.

David nodded. "Much better for a quick casual call than using the Floo, and you can call Muggles too. And talk back and forth, like using the Floo."

"It's a lot more portable than a Floo. We need mobiles," Bill said. "Some of this is Muggle money, Muggle investments, mixed Magic and Muggle property. Glad I have Michael. He's worked in both worlds."

Harry went outside and took the call. "Hello, Mr. Grunt. How is the Burrow?"

"Gone, Harry. Destroyed. Just ashes, it and a couple of outbuildings and everything around it is gone. Looks like a small army of dark wizards tried to take all of their anger out on the buildings. A couple of days with the curse breakers, and the property should be safe to build on, but I would rebuild a rather large and substantial house over the place where the old house was and put in some magic in the foundation."

"Can you meet the family at my house tomorrow afternoon?" asked Harry.

"Will two o'clock do?" Grunt replied.

"Sure," said Harry. "My house is at 12 Grimmauld Place in London. I will have my house-elf look for you and make sure he lets you in past the wards."

"The old Black place," said Grunt. "One of the most secure and hidden in London. That whole block used to be magical. No way I could get in without someone letting me in. I'll bring books of house plans. Nothing too small. Need a large footprint to cover the curses."

"Thank you, Mr. Grunt," Harry replied.

"Grover Grunt, Grover to you Harry. See you tomorrow," and Grunt hung up the phone.

Harry told David, "I need to talk to Arthur Weasley before we go back to Hogwarts."

They waited outside Arthur's office until he was free and then went in, Harry saying without preamble, "Dad, the Burrow is destroyed."

"I kind of suspected that, but nothing until we get there. I don't want everybody to be … Harry, I don't know. Maybe there is a little something left, something we can start with. Please humor me, and we will deal with it tomorrow."

"Everybody can stay at Grimmauld Place, and I'm going to build you a new place," Harry insisted, wondering how badly the family would take the destruction of their home. "It's my fault that the Burrow was destroyed."

"It's your fault that we are alive, if you want to put it that way, Harry. Do you really think my family would have survived a victorious Tom Riddle? Yes, people died at the Battle of Hogwarts, but in my lifetime, I have known of many more people killed by that crew, plus all of the estates. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I will probably have to accept help in building a new house. And Harry, the best thing to say when someone says, 'thank you' is 'you're welcome,' nothing more."

"You're welcome, Dad," Harry replied, feeling chagrined.

"We arrested Lucius Malfoy today, Harry," Arthur said. "He was sending a lot of owls and we cannot figure out who he was sending them to or what he was doing. None of his stories quite check out. We are going to try to send him to Azkaban for the rest of his life."

"I don't like or trust him either," Harry said.

"You know Draco," Arthur said.

"He's hardly a friend," Harry replied.

"Things are changing, Harry," Arthur answered. "See if Draco or Narcissa knows any more about the whereabouts of the Death Eaters. See if they know any more about the money, too."

"I'll try, Dad," Harry replied, dreading the task. "What is going to happen to them?"

"If they cooperate, probably house arrest and probation. If they don't do anything stupid, they will probably be reasonably free in a few years. We will have to see how things work out."

Harry got back to Hogwarts well before dinner. Ginny greeted him at the fireplace. "I need to talk to the Malfoy family," Harry said, after hugging his fiancée for a few moments.

"You know they arrested Mr. Malfoy today?" asked Ginny, a little miffed that she hadn't been the one to share that little tidbit of news.

"Your father told me," Harry said.

Ginny picked up a sleeping Teddy and put him in the carrier and Harry took out his map. Draco and Narcissa were in a modest-sized room down close to the Slytherin dorm. When they got there, they found the room had eight beds, separated by sheets hanging from the ceiling. The sheets had been pulled back in one area and there were three beds, a couple of chairs and a desk.

"May we talk?" Harry asked.

"Come in, Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley," Narcissa said politely. "Is this Andromeda's grandson, my nephew?"

Ginny nodded, remembered Lucius's snide remarks and almost said something snotty in reply, but she held her tongue.

Narcissa changed the one bed into a comfortable sofa and motioned for Harry and Ginny to sit down. Narcissa sat in one chair and Draco in the other, both facing Harry and Ginny.

"You know they arrested Lucius?" Narcissa asked, sounding almost tearful. Harry nodded yes. "Are they going to arrest Draco and me too?" she then inquired, now looking downright worried. She grasped Draco's hand for support. Harry was surprised when his old enemy patted his mother's knee.

"I don't think so," Harry replied honestly. "Draco's too young, and his record is mixed. I know he could not kill Dumbledore, and Ginny says that Draco actually saved some of the students from the worst of the torture. Your lying for me in the forest counts for a lot."

"Are they just going to set us free?" she asked incredulously.

"No, I think you will be under some sort of house arrest or probation for some time, possibly have to pay some form of restitution. The more you can help us find the remaining Death Eaters and the missing money, the better it will go for you," Harry said. "The most important thing is to be honest. Arthur said that no one who was talking to Lucius really trusts what he was telling them."

"I wish I could tell you that Lucius was more honest and open in the family," Narcissa said, plucking at a loose thread on her robes. "But the more he got in with the Death Eaters, the more he hid things from me. Oh, I supported the pureblood cause. I suppose I still do. I hope Draco marries a pureblooded witch. But I was never one for all of the killing, the torture.

In the end, everybody around Lord Voldemort was just evil! I'm ashamed of the things done in our house."

"Draco, you've been very quiet. What do you know?" asked Harry.

"Lord Voldemort operated by a mushroom school of management: keep everybody in the dark and feed them shit," Draco said with an uncertain sneer. "I know next to nothing that's not public knowledge."

"You want to be on probation for the rest of your life?" asked Harry, trying not to let his frustration show. "You have to know something."

"Like that nobody liked Greyback?" asked Draco. "Father found him a useful enforcer, but he didn't like him. Father just used him. I think Father just uses everybody, me included. When I couldn't kill at his whim, I think he was willing to throw me away too."

"Draco!" Narcissa said reprovingly.

"How can you defend them after what they did to you?" Draco replied, his cheeks flushing.

Narcissa got a fierce stare, almost violent, that she directed right at Draco, who hung his head.

"I don't think Greyback is staying with the Lestrange brothers and Bellatrix," Draco volunteered. "I don't think she loved anyone, except Lord Voldemort, but she totally dominated her husband and his brother. I bet they are still scared of her, even though she's dead, if she's really dead."

"Do you have any reason to think she's not dead?" asked Harry, his insides turning cold.

"Just rumors, and I bet you or the Aurors have heard the same rumors. That Bellatrix did the same thing that Voldemort did to stay alive, or that the Lestrange brothers have somehow brought her back from the dead. Nothing that I knew before the Battle."

"Did Tom Riddle trust Bellatrix?" asked Harry. He couldn't fathom it; Riddle trusted no one. He had no friends, no confidants.

"I don't think he trusted anyone," Draco replied, after a moment of thought. "But I think he knew she was totally faithful to him. She went to Azkaban rather than denounce him. She's the craziest person I've ever met. Loves torture, loves seeing people hurt, especially if she's the one to inflict the pain."

"Do you know where any of these people would be?" asked Harry again.

"No," Draco replied. "I know we lost and that I am going to have to suck up to you and your kind to win back anything. Nobody told me anything! Father even said a couple of times, 'best if you don't know.' Nothing useful."

Harry heaved a weary sigh and turned back to Narcissa with his eyebrows raised. "I suppose I could give you the addresses for some of the old family homes. My sister's in-laws also have a couple of places on the continent as well. But I don't really expect that they're using anything so public," she said without further prompting.

Harry took the addresses Narcissa gave him. Supposing that this was the best he might be able to do, he thanked the Malfoys for their time and told them to inform him immediately if anything new came to mind or if anyone that was involved with the Death Eaters approached them.

* * *

After breakfast on Saturday May 17, a large crew got ready to apparate to the Burrow. Arthur and the Aurors went first, followed by Molly. All of the boys went, as well as Harry, Ginny and Teddy, and Andromeda. Finally, the Appledorn and Bayleaf families Apparated to the Burrow.

The Burrow was gone, destroyed. Both the house and the shed burned and were cursed down to ashes.

"Maybe I should have come here first, before bringing you all here," said Arthur, his voice hard. "I wanted us all together to make plans on what needed to be fixed, and who would do what. I just did not expect to find nothing."

"We always planned on having some of us stay at Grimmauld Place," said Harry.

Arthur said, "We need something to start with to rebuild, and there is nothing here."

Molly looked around. "All of the memories are gone. The house we could fix, rebuild, but the memories, all of the letters and photographs, my household spell books with all of the notes in them. Oh Arthur it's all gone!"

Arthur, pulling his wife to him, said, "I knew something was seriously wrong, but was hoping that there was something we could use to start to rebuild, even just some of the possessions that we could repair and save."

For the second time in her life, Ginny saw her mother break down and cry. Her mother was always strong, always the mother hen in charge of her large brood of children. But the Burrow being gone, totally gone, was just too much.

"So many memories, so many little things. It may not have been worth many galleons, but it was us, our family," sobbed Molly. "Things we'll never be able to replace."

Arthur tried to console Molly with, "Well, Mollywobbles, we are just going to have to start building some new memories with this fantastic family we have around us."

Ginny was holding on to Harry, wearing Teddy on her front. Harry was also holding on to Andromeda, who was whimpering again. Ginny did not say anything. Harry could see she was trying hard not to cry. Harry had heard the day before that the Burrow was gone, but here seeing the evidence, he was trying hard not to cry himself. Harry thought that a lot of his good memories centered around the Burrow.

Hermione was holding Ron, who was shaking, not with tears but with fury. Hermione was afraid that if she did not hold on to Ron he would strike out at somebody or something. Fleur was holding on to Bill and trying to comfort him. George had brought Angelina Johnson along to help, and they were both crying and holding each other. And Percy and Charlie were just looking at the pile of ash where the Burrow had been, just staring at it, as though willing it to reform into their childhood home.

The Appledorn and Bayleaf families were just staring at the Weasley family. It felt like they were witnessing a grief that should be private, and even the littlest of the children knew that this was very hard. They had just lost their own homes, saw them burning as they fled to first a hotel and then Hogwarts, and they knew the grief of losing the place that was always home, safety, refuge you could count on.

Bill finally said, "I wish we could house some of you at Shell Cottage with Fleur and me, but our bedrooms are full. We have had to take in a couple of displaced families ourselves."

"Iz 'ard," Fleur said, tears in her eyes. "All ze people, all ze hurt people, ze damaged 'omes."

Finally Harry took charge and said, "The only place we can go to is my house at 12 Grimmauld Place. Follow me." Harry took Ginny and Teddy and apparated to the front door. Kreacher was there, and he greeted them, saying, "Welcome Mistress Ginny, welcome little Master Teddy."

Harry then went back for Andromeda. She looked at the house, at Kreacher and then started to cry. "I can't go in there!" she said wildly. "I was told never to come back to that house. Kreacher will never let me in. Kreacher will throw me out!"

Kreacher had to repeat over and over, "Kreacher is Harry Potter's house-elf now. Andromeda is very welcome." Finally, Kreacher held out his hand, and as though speaking to a young child, said, "Kreacher will hold your hand and lead you inside. Powerful magic when the master's house-elf leads someone inside. Says you is very welcome, very welcome indeed. Powerful magic."

Andromeda looked warily at the old house-elf and sort of winced when his hand touched hers, but then she allowed him to lead her inside.

It took a while for the people who knew where the house was to bring along the rest, but eventually everybody was there. Kreacher met them inside the front door, proud to show everyone his domain. Harry brought Ginny and Teddy down to the large kitchen and then went to the end of the hall and waved everybody back, directing them downstairs.

When everybody was in the kitchen, Harry said, "Welcome to my house. It consists of this lower floor with the kitchen you are in and a couple of other rooms, the main floor with a living and dining room, and a first floor with a large drawing room. Above that are three floors of bedrooms, two large bedrooms per floor. Let's all look at the rooms, and when everybody is back down here, we can talk about where everyone will sleep."

The house was reasonably large, twenty feet across the front by thirty feet deep. It was only visible to magical people, and then only if they were able to get through all of the protections put on the house. You went up a few steps to the front door, which led you to the ground floor. Narrow steps in the back of the main hall led to the basement where there was a very large kitchen, plus a pantry and another small cupboard. There was a fireplace that could be connected to the Floo network. Hermione said the kitchen looked like it had not been updated since the 15th century, although the house was nowhere near that old. The room was stone, with old cupboards. There was a large table and plenty of chairs in the kitchen, big enough for the entire group to eat. There was also a very small half bath in one corner.

The ground floor had a dining room on one side of the main hall, and a living area on the other side. The hall was full of portraits, the most prominent being that of Walburga Black. Although it was covered by curtains, Walburga could sense that Muggles or part-Muggles had entered the house, and she was screaming at the top of her lungs, "Mudbloods! Scum! Spawn of Mudbloods! Get out of my house!"

Harry said, "I wish we could get rid of that. There is no way to remove the portrait. It has a Permanent Sticking Charm on it."

Andromeda, making sure Walburga could not hear her, in a small voice said, "You could paint over it with Muggle paint. That will keep her quiet."

Harry looked at Kreacher, who nodded yes. "Not first portrait in frame," said Kreacher. "Others also painted over."

The ground floor also had a large formal staircase leading up to the first floor, most of which contained a magnificent drawing room, although there was also a small bedroom and another half bath. Harry later learned that the drawing room was, when it needed to be, thirty by thirty, which was of course impossible given that the house was only twenty feet wide, another of those magical uses of space that Harry loved.

The second, third and fourth floors were very similar. They each contained two large bedrooms, one facing out the front, one facing out the back. The third floor was clearly meant to be the master suite. There was a connecting door between the two bedrooms and each one had a large private bathroom. At the top of the fourth floor was a ladder hidden in the ceiling that led to a large attic. There was no electrical wiring in the house; lighting was by gas lamps or magic. There were radiators and a gas furnace, but it was an old gravity furnace that did not need any electricity to work.

There was a garden area that provided light for the windows in the rear of the house. It was also twenty feet wide by thirty feet deep, the same size as the house. All of the houses on the block had gardens in back about the same area as the house to let in light, houses side by side and back to back with gardens, all surrounded by walls that came up to the top of the main floors but no higher. The back area at 12 Grimmauld looked like it had not been used in decades.

After Harry had led the assembled group on a brief tour of the house, he assembled everyone in the basement kitchen. Kreacher walked around the large table, supplying drinks and putting out a few trays of sandwiches. Harry looked at Arthur, Bill and Michael and said, "I guess I should begin. I need to talk about some financial matters, and I would rather not have the six children here." Kim and Sue said that they would take care of the children so that Rosemary could stay with Michael and listen to what Harry had to say.

"I need all of you to keep in mind that what I am telling you is confidential. I need your help, and I need you to let me help you. Dad, Bill, Michael Appledorn and I have been dealing with my finances over the last week, and I need you to know some of what we have found.

"I am very well off financially, but with just the Potter and Black estates not filthy rich. Each estate contains about one million galleons: that is about five million pounds or seven million dollars. That is a lot of money for one person or family, but not a lot of money for lots of families."

Harry took a breath and continued. "Concerning the other estates, while there will be a lot more money coming in, much of it will be going to the Ministry for the time being. Some of it will go to pay for all of the staff that is working on the entire mess. We are hoping that the rest can go to restoring and improving the financial situations of those who need it.

"Please do not try to be nice and turn down help. It is not going to help me or anyone if we cannot use the money to protect everyone. Why don't we all talk about what needs to happen? The first thing will be for us to rebuild the Burrow.

I need my immediate family in good secure houses. Mum, Dad, we need to build a New Burrow. We can talk about money later, but for right now please let me pay for it. That will help me more than anything."

Molly asked, "You want to build us a house?"

Harry said, "Yes, a house for you, with an apartment for Andromeda, so that she and Teddy can live in a secure house, and I do not have to worry about my and Ginny's mum and dad."

"Oh, Harry, where do we begin? I have no idea how to build a Muggle house," said Molly, sounding flustered.

"I have a builder coming this afternoon and everyone can help with that," said Harry. He turned to Michael and Rosemary. "Now, we need to figure out what you're going to do. You've been talking about keeping the two families together and as close to the Burrow as possible. We have the start if a little street that goes north right here." Harry pointed out the little road that went from the main paved Muggle road to the Burrow, and a little branch of the road that headed north. "That might be best since it's close and we won't have to make paths through the woods or go around the pond for easy access to the Burrow."

Michael looked pleased, but Rosemary frowned. She said, "But how will we ever pay you, Harry? I know you said that we shouldn't refuse help, but this just seems like too much."

"Don't worry, dear," said Michael. "With the salary that Harry's given me, we'll have it paid off in no time. As it is, we have a nice down payment already."

Rosemary looked much relieved.

"We only have the Weasley boys left," said Harry, looking at his future brothers-in-law. They all looked back at him like he was crazy. Harry added, "All of you will need secure homes too. We've already got Shell Cottage under the best protection available at the moment, but we'll need to make sure that anywhere you stay is just as safe."

They all grumbled, but couldn't really argue with Harry. They went on to discuss the sleeping arrangements for Grimmauld Place.

The top floor was given to the Appledorn and Bayleaf Children. The third floor had Andromeda in one room and Michael and Rosemary in another. The second floor had Arthur and Molly in one room, leaving Harry, Ginny, Teddy, Ron and Hermione in the other room. The rest would kip on camp beds in the drawing room until the rooms above the joke shop and Percy's apartment could be secured.

"Not much change here," said a reasonably cheery Molly, recognizing that at least she and Arthur would be in the same room that they had while staying there during the early days of the Order.

The small bedroom off of the drawing room would serve as temporary housing for the Aurors who would be staying; although the couples each had their own apartments to go to when they were off duty.

Since there was nothing to move or fix, George, Angelina Lee, Charlie, Ron and Hermione left for Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. There was a great deal of work to do, if they were going to reopen the shop any time soon.

Michael and Rosemary went upstairs to unpack and get the bedrooms ready, as did Andromeda.

After Molly had the room fixed for her and Arthur, she went into the bedroom where Andromeda was going to be staying. Andromeda was almost paralyzed with fear, and Molly had to put the few things that Andromeda had with her away into the wardrobe and appropriate drawers.

Michael and Rosemary volunteered to paint over the portrait. Harry did not have any Muggle money on him and neither did anyone else, so he asked Kreacher if he could get them what they needed. A short time later, Kreacher came back with a bag of two hundred galleons and ten one hundred pound notes. Harry gave Michael one of the hundred pound notes and Michael left to buy paintbrushes and paint.

Kreacher then said quietly to Harry, "Master Potter, there is a potion you can put in Muggle paint to help keep Mrs. Black quiet."

"Where can we get some of this potion?" asked Harry immediately.

"Potion room downstairs, under kitchen," Kreacher responded. "I shows you." And that was how Harry found out that he had a large, very well equipped potions room under his kitchen. They eventually called the area 'the dungeon." It also contained a utility room and a couple of small storage rooms.

At about two o'clock the builders came. Both Mr. Griffin and Mr. Grunt were there. Mr. Griffin was the Muggle, so he joked he did the grunt work, a pun that they must have used for many years. They had books of house plans.

Molly looked at the plans and said, "Everything is huge! We can't accept this!"

"Well, Mrs. Weasley, we have a problem," Mr. Grunt said. "We need to cover over all of the cursed soil, and it's going to take one of these here large houses to do it."

Until the end of her days, Molly was never sure if that was the whole story, although in general it was, so she graciously accepted the offer of a very large house.

After about four hours, they settled on a house that met all of their needs. It was a very large house, although not a mansion by English standards.

There was enough space to accommodate the rapidly expanding family and more to come. The builders suggested a mother-in-law apartment, so that Andromeda could stay with them but still feel like she had her own space. Molly, getting into the spirit of things, insisted that ALL of her children should be able to stay the night without being cramped, allowing for spouses and possibly children.

Harry wanted the house to be built so that it was wired with electricity, television and Internet. Arthur thought this was fantastic. "A house with PLUGS!" he declared excitedly. Molly was not so sure and said as much.

Grunt said that eventually the Weasleys would learn to keep their magic under control so that they could use electricity and watch the telly, but when there were a lot of magical people over who could not control their magic (such as young children), they would still need to use gas and/or magical lights. So plenty of non-electric lighting was also included. There was another problem that they were going to have to deal with, however. The house was going to be much harder to hide magically if it had Muggle electricity running through it. You could still shield it from magical attack, but it was going to be a very visible house to the Muggles.

The outside was stone, and there was muggle and magical reinforcement included. They could start building June 1, and be done by July 17. When asked how the company could finish such a large house so fast, they were told, "It's magic!"

The next order of business would be to build a home for the Appledorns and Bayleafs. There would also be a small school, so that Molly and Rosemary could teach the children in an easy atmosphere. It might also serve well once Molly's children started having little ones of their own, she thought.

Harry was happy they had a plan. Arthur, Molly and Ginny were amazed at how Harry had taken command and engineered the plans for this complex of homes. He explained that he wanted eight to twelve houses in the area, with wards over the area, more wards over the individual houses, and some additional layers of muggle and magic security.

The families had decided to take Monday off to bury their dead, and so they needed to go to both Godric's Hallow and Ottery St. Catchpole first to make plans.

Just before dinner, Neville Longbottom asked if he and Hanna Abbott could come over at about 8:00 PM. Harry and Ginny sat in the smaller downstairs living area on a love seat, and Neville and Hanna sat in another love seat. Neville said, "Hanna and I are getting married next Saturday afternoon, and we would like you two to be our best man and maid of honor."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other and nodded. Harry said, "We would be delighted to stand up for you. When is the baby due?"

"Mid-December," said Hanna, blushing prettily.

"We have another favor to ask. We know you are going to share a suite of rooms at Hogwarts. There is another suite of rooms next door. If we moved into that, the kitchen area would be available for both of us," said Neville.

"I'd really appreciate it if you could let us live next to you Ginny," said Hanna. "You are so comfortable with children."

"When I was small and at home, Mum would have new mothers over to show them what to do. She has become the expert in anything mothering. So, I saw nappies being changed and changed a few myself, held a lot of babies, heard my mother talking about nursing to lots of women. And because I was a girl, they did not mind me looking at them and seeing what they were doing. If I do not know the answer to a mothering problem, I can always call the expert, my mum. It'd be great to have you living next to us," said Ginny. "Are you going back to school, Hanna?"

Hanna said, "I left school after my mother was killed, and I really want to see if I can finish more schooling before becoming the full-time proprietor of the Leaky Cauldron. Uncle Tom is really ready to retire. He only stayed open the last few years to give everyone a sense of normalcy."

Later that evening, Ron came over and saw his father, saying, "Hello, Dad. There is an apartment over the Hogsmeade store, and I'm going to be staying there."

Ron turned to go, but Arthur said, "You need to talk to your mother and me about this."

Ron got a sort of downcast look on his face and said, "Yes, Dad." The two men went downstairs to where Molly was.

"Tell your mother where you are going to be staying, Ronald," Arthur said in a serious tone of voice, startling his son by the use of his full first name.

"There is an apartment over the Hogsmeade store, and I'm going to be staying there," said Ron, putting every bit of power he had behind it. "I'm going to be working for George, and he said I could stay over the store."

"Where is Hermione going to be staying?' asked Molly, looking up from the dough she'd been kneading.

"I'm going to be in my own bedroom," Ron quickly replied, kicking himself mentally. He'd just said the exact wrong thing.

Where is Hermione going to be staying?" Molly asked again.

"Above the Hogsmeade store, closer to Hogwarts, but in a different bedroom," Ron said, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead.

"Whose idea was this?" a suspicious Molly inquired.

"Angelina and George's, because they and Lee know more about the big store and wanted to be there."

Molly continued the interrogation. "Not your idea or Hermione's?"

"We all talked about it," Ron replied, on the defensive. "I'm not saying I didn't want to stay close to Hermione, but it's not like I insisted, or Hermione, that we stay together. It just sort of worked out that way. And it's not like we're sleeping together."

"I'm not sure what we can do about it tonight, but I'm not happy, Ronald," Molly said with a frown.

"Yes, Mum," said Ron, as he quickly beat a retreat out of the house. He couldn't believe his luck. Had his mother really bought it? Then he groaned. Of course she hadn't, but at least he had a reprieve. He and Hermione could talk about it.

As soon as Ron left, Ginny went into the bedroom and made sure there were only two beds, side by side, for her and Harry, plus the crib for Teddy next to her bed. Shortly afterwards, Molly came into the bedroom.

"I sort of feel married already," Ginny said to her mother, somewhat excited and slightly frightened as well.

Molly thought of the formal betrothal contract they had signed. She did not have any idea how to respond to Ginny. She really did not want to tell her sixteen year old daughter that engaged witches and wizards, especially if they were betrothed, seldom waited until the wedding night for sex. Molly was not even sure why, but she hoped that Ginny would wait until she was seventeen and they'd had a formal wedding ceremony to give herself to Harry. A very frustrated Molly gave Ginny a big hug and walked out of the room without saying anything.

Before they went to bed, Arthur stopped at Harry and Ginny's room. He looked at his daughter and said, "Your mother and I are not comfortable with you two sleeping together like this."

"I promise we will not have sex, Mr. Weasley," said Harry volunteered.

Arthur looked at him sharply for the renewed formality. But he quickly realized that Harry had done it deliberately. Harry was being the polite and responsible man that he was. Arthur knew where the blame lay and looked at Ginny, who glared back and did not say anything.

"We're doing our best to be good," Harry added. "And I get up when Teddy fusses and change him, and it really is handy having both of us here taking care of Teddy."

"Well, I guess it is acceptable then," said Arthur, kind of heavily. He really did not know how else to arrange the room, and he was anxious to get back to sleeping with Molly in a private room, and to be honest, do more than just sleep with Molly.

"Uh, if we do get married when Ginny turns 17," said Harry kind of warily, "I don't want to sound stupid, but Aunt Marge kind of acted like it was … like sex was … kind of dirty and … when is it all right?" Harry was very red, obviously nervous and very naive. Ginny was looking at Harry, staring at him like he was crazy.

Arthur was a little taken aback by the question and took a moment to compose an answer. "Harry," he said gently, "once you are married, everyone expects you to be sexually active and to enjoy it. If you and Ginny both want to do something, you should not feel guilty doing it. You are not married if you are still virgins. You have to have sex to be married. Sexual relations between a married couple is a beautiful thing, and once you start, no one expects you to stop. Thank you for waiting, but when the time comes, enjoy each other, with my blessing and I am sure Molly's too."

Once Arthur left the room, Ginny looked at Harry. With a mixture of anger and resignation, she said, "Wait, wait, wait. It seems I spend most of my life waiting to be grown up enough for something. I'm always too small or too young or too something!" She looked at Harry with a questioning look. Although she already had her suspicions, she asked, "Who said sex was dirty?"

"No one at the Dursleys' taught me anything about sex," said Harry, his embarrassment obvious. "Vernon thought I was a freak and should never breed. So I am sure that if I asked him anything, I wouldn't get an answer. I overheard Aunt Petunia, my mother's sister, and her sister-in-law, Vernon's sister talking. Aunt Marge said something about being glad no man had ever violated her body, and Aunt Petunia said that Vernon could not do it anymore and something like, 'I told him to forget those pills,' or something like that. I don't understand it, but it doesn't sound like they still do it."

"I'm almost sure Mum and Dad still do it," said Ginny, looking as though she might be sick. "I wish you had said that we'll try to be good and not have sex instead of 'We won't.'"

Harry laughed. "You'd just consider that a challenge, wouldn't you?"

"Still do," said Ginny, pouting but with a sneaky smirk. Finally she said, "Harry, I don't know why, but in some ways I just feel so married already, having signed that contract, with theses rings on our fingers."

"I know, Ginny," Harry answered, looking at the rings. "Somehow, after signing those papers, I just felt like we were really sort of married too, even though we won't be until August 11. But I promised your dad."

For Ginny and Harry, the best thing about not having Ron and Hermione in the room was that it made it much easier to talk to each other and do some snogging. The worst part for Ginny was that Harry still insisted that anything beyond snogging should wait until she was 17. He even backed off on where he would touch her or allow her to touch him, something not easy to do. "I promised your parents," he would say over and over.

Ginny, for her part, used the _Touch-of-Lust_ spell very little, most Sundays but almost never any other time, trying to keep from being TOO horny, too desperate for sex.

Her thoughts then turned to what his i_relatives/i _had done to him. Now he felt inadequate because they'd implied that making love was something of which to be ashamed. Although her patience was wearing thin, she had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to break Harry's defenses until after they were married. But when she turned 17, she would be able to use every weapon in her arsenal as both a woman and a witch. She determined that, no matter what happened, she would show him that sex was a beautiful thing to be cherished between a man and a woman.


	12. Ch 12 Funerals

Ch 12 Funerals

_At the end of the service Harry noticed Narcissa Malfoy standing at a distance, accompanied by an Auror. Harry pointed this out to Andromeda, and when he did so, Andromeda pushed Harry in front of her. "Don't let her hurt me, please," pleaded Andromeda. "Don't let her hurt Teddy!"_

* * *

Harry, Ginny and Teddy were down at the kitchen at 7:00 AM on Sunday May 17. Kreacher had already started breakfast, and it was clear from what he was doing and saying that he considered it his duty to fix breakfast for everyone, and no one was going to be allowed to take his place.

Molly was in a very somber mood. She looked worse than she had when she'd woken up for the first time in the Gryffindor common room. Ginny thought she looked almost as shaken as she had just after she'd killed Bella.

Molly took the Floo to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes a little after 9:00 AM. Less than an hour later, she was back, saying, "George does not want to come with us today. He is having a hard time dealing with Fred, avoided being with Fred after the first couple of days after the battle." Molly gave a big sigh, tears streaming down her face. "George and the rest will be there tomorrow."

Ron and Hermione were at WWW, and they accompanied Molly back to Grimmauld Place.

The assembled group that was staying at 12 Grimmauld Place went to the cemetery at Ottery St. Catchpole first. Ginny said to Harry, "Look at Mum. She is shaking! This has got to be hard for her." There was a small cemetery for the Wizarding community. The Weasley plot was moderate in size. Because there were a lot of Weasleys and not a lot of money, every generation or so the old graves were consolidated, so the oldest graves were very close together. You could not help but notice all of the younger people who had been killed in the last two Wizarding wars. It definitely looked like the Weasley and Prewett families had been close to being wiped out.

Harry had never seen this graveyard, and after Arthur pointed out all the dead, their parents, brothers, cousins and others, he said, "You are responsible for stopping the deaths, Harry, not causing them. It's down to you, Ron and Hermione and all of my family that fought along side you three that brought an end to it. We can never thank you enough. I just hope that Fred is the last family member we have to bury because of Voldemort and his kind."

Patrick Prewett stood in front of his father's grave, Fabian Prewett, Molly's brother, whom he'd never known. "Mother has to come here," he said. "She needs to move on with her life. She misses her family."

Finally, they came to the place where Fred was going to be buried. Ginny said, "Mum's in as bad shape as she was just after Fred died!"

Molly sat down by a tomb stone right next to the plot where Fred was going to be buried. It said:

**Fabian Prewett Weasley**

**Born November 12, 1974**

**Died March 16, 1975**

**Beloved infant son of Arthur and Molly**

Molly was shaking and sobbing. Arthur was sitting down on the ground holding Molly, and he was also crying, just not sobbing loudly like Molly. Ginny turned to Ron and said, "Did you know?"

Ron faintly said, "I had no idea."

It took almost half an hour for Molly to calm down. She kept saying, "I couldn't hold on to him! I lost him!"

Finally, with tears still in his eyes, Arthur said, "Fabian is the reason there is a big gap between Charlie and Percy. Bill knows about Fabian. If Charlie does, he never says anything about him, and I do not think Percy knows. For years every time anyone mentioned Fabian, Molly started to cry. Molly was shopping with the three boys and Death Eaters attacked. She tried to Apparate with the three boys, but when she got to the Burrow, Fabian was not with her. She's still not sure why, although she still has scars from the attack. Someone may have hit the baby with a spell or something that pulled him away from her.

She sent an urgent Patronus for help, but by the time we got to where she had been, the Death Eaters and Fabian were gone.

Bellatrix Lestrange tortured that poor baby." At this Arthur broke down, held on to Molly and sobbed loudly for about ten minutes, trying to get control of himself. It was so out of character for Arthur that everybody was shocked. "I hope she spends all eternity in hell for what she did to that poor baby." Arthur said, spitting the words out with a venom so strong that everybody shuddered. "Several families left Britain when they saw or heard of what Bella did."

Molly finally got up and said, "Maybe I am cried out. I'm sorry I never told you about Fabian. I just tried to bury the memory. When I got my clock with all of our names, I did not want Fabian on it. The memory of what she did to him is just so horrible! If anybody deserves to burn in hell for all eternity that bitch does!" Molly's fury at Bella also took everyone by surprise, and it became clear why Molly had had the emotional strength to take on Bella and cast such strong spells, why she hated Bella so much that she could have meant it when she'd thrown the Avada Kedavra curse.

Ginny went and gave her mother a big hug, which lasted for several minutes. Then Molly hugged every one else who was there. For the first time, Ginny realized why her mother had said after the battle of Hogwarts that a mother should not have to bury her (plural) children. Fred was the second of her children to die that she would have to bury, killed in the war with Riddle.

Ron told his father, "I'll make sure Charlie and George know about Fabian. George told Mum that he did not think he could go to the grave site more than once. I really think George needs Lee and Angelina around to remind him to keep working on getting the store back together! When he does that he's all right, but when he goes off quietly by himself, we can see he's having a hard time."

After finishing the arrangements for a grave site for Fred, Michael and Rosemary picked out grave sites for their spouses. There were going to be four graves side by side, with space for Michael and Rosemary in the center and a marker telling about their losses and what had happened during the war. Rosemary and Michael were going to get married soon and combine their names to Appleleaf, in honor of the Appledorn and Bayleaf families, and so all six (and maybe more) children would share the same last name.

As they were getting ready to go to Godric's Hallow, Ginny asked Rosemary, "Do you love Michael? Have you fallen in love with him?"

Rosemary answered, "We decided after his wife and my husband died that it would be better for the children, and for us, if we got married. I love him not because we fell in love. We obviously did not fall out of love with our spouses. But love can be a decision as well as an emotion. We decided that we needed to live together as husband and wife and so we decided to love each other. And we are starting to fall in love with each other. Remember, Ginny, you decided to love Harry Potter. That is a decision which you must honor even if some day life is hard and maybe you do not like him very much."

Ginny thought back to the Happily Ever After discussions. It seemed that this lesson was being taught over and over. Loving Harry Potter was a decision, not an emotion. The next couple of months were going to be hard, and it was good that she was reminded of this.

At Godric's Hollow there was a small Church with a modest-sized graveyard. When Ted Tonks had died, Andromeda purchased four gravesites side by side. That way, her daughter and son-in-law could one day be buried together as well. Never had she imagined that that day would come so soon, but in a war one takes precautions. Monday afternoon they were going to bury Nymphadora and Remus Lupin. There was one grave site left for Andromeda, between her husband and daughter.

Andromeda had not accompanied the family to the Weasley family plot. Harry Apparated back to Grimmauld Place to get her. Arthur had made the arrangement, which mostly was making sure that there was not going to be another funeral. The funeral would not be visible to Muggles.

They Apparated to a place a couple of hundred yards from the graveyard and started to walk towards it. Before they got to the gates, Andromeda started to scream.

Molly looked at Arthur with tears streaming down her face and said, "Take me to St. Mungo's, Arthur. Harry, take Andromeda. We are both going to need some help getting through tomorrow."

Harry did as he was told. There was a modest-sized section of St. Mungo's that had been set up for grief counseling. Arthur told Harry he could go, unless he felt he needed to talk to the counselors himself.

"I need to get back to Ginny," Harry said. He had an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach, like maybe tomorrow was going to be as bad as five of Dumbledore's funeral, but he did not want to leave Ginny alone.

Once Harry was back at Grimmauld Place, he asked Ginny if she wanted to go see the house where he had spent his first year. Rosemary agreed to take Teddy, and Harry and Ginny Apparated back to Godric's Hallow.

Harry wanted to show Ginny his parents' graves first.

Harry spoke first. "Hi, Mum and Dad. I was here last winter but didn't say anything. Thank you for being with me when I went to face Voldemort. That was really hard, and I don't think I could have done it without you. I want you to meet the girl I am going to marry this summer. Dad, she is really pretty, like Mum, and has red hair like Mum. She is so strong. She's the toughest girl I know! Mum, I'm sure you would like her. I just wish you could be here to meet her."

Ginny said, "Mum, Dad. Can I call you Mum and Dad? Your son is so brave. You know, I am sure, that he defeated Voldemort. He is also the nicest, best person I know. I guess you can tell that I am in love with him. I wish I could get your blessing to marry your son, but I guess this will have to do."

They then went to the house. Ginny was expecting a large house, but it was a small neat little house at the end of a lane. You could see where the upstairs bedroom had been blown open. They looked at the notes on the gate and memorial sign at the outside of the property. They cautiously went into the house. It might have been protected from any one else from getting into the house, but apparently Harry could enter without any problem. Ginny said, "It's just an ordinary house!" Harry said, "Just an ordinary house with an ordinary little family that Riddle tore apart, and I spent the next ten years living in a closet under stairs. Ginny, I have to get out of here." They left the house and went over to a place where they could Apparate to 12 Grimmauld place.

Everyone in the house was in a somber mood. The five bodies were gathered from Hogwarts. They were some of the last to be picked up, but not the last. The war had been so horrible, and so many people were displaced, that everyone who'd died had not had next of kin notified. The Ministry was going to have to bury one or two.

The bodies were placed in the living room. They were all wrapped in white burial shrouds and were in the plainest wooden coffins. The last two weeks had been so busy that the full extent of the losses had not hit home to them yet, and from the reaction of many of the family members it was apparent that the reality of burying Fred, Remus and Tonks was hitting home in a way it had not up to now. Michael and Rosemary were also having a hard time. They were both trying to comfort their children and be strong for them, while at the same time contemplating the changed family they seemed to be shepherding through these terribly troubled times.

By early afternoon they were done. Harry and Ginny had a chance to really talk. Ginny asked Harry, "Are you happy with your life? Are you happy with what you are doing?"

Harry answered, "Life is a lot better than a couple of weeks ago! Maybe I'm just too busy to think about it. Being with you is the best thing I've ever had happen to me."

"What do you want to do? You know, when you grow up, when you get older?" asked Ginny.

Harry thought a bit and said, "I guess I feel pretty grown up. I want to become an Auror, work with Shacklebolt and your dad to reform the Ministry. I hope to keep doing some good. I really want a normal family, with children, like you had growing up. Nothing special, just normal and loving. What do you want to do when you grow up?"

Ginny thought, 'Well one of my great dreams was to marry Harry Potter.' Ginny smiled at this and squeezed Harry's hand, and then said more pensively, "I want to graduate from Hogwarts. I want to have children someday, but not right away. I don't know."

Harry pushed a little more. "Any other dreams? What is your dream job? What would the future Mrs. Potter like to do for a couple of years before she is ready to have children?"

Ginny knew just what she wanted but was not sure how to say it. "Well, I do have a silly dream, but it's just a little girl's dream. Promise me you'll not laugh."

Harry said, "I'll never laugh at your dreams, Ginny."

Then she said, "Well, I really like playing Quidditch and would love to play for the Holyhead Harpies. But that's just a silly girl's dream. You have to be really good to play for the Harpies."

"But Ginny," said Harry, looking perplexed, "you are really good! You should be able to make the team. You just need to do a good job next year at Hogwarts."

"Sure, with a crappy broom and no time to practice this summer," she mumbled, her tone downcast.

Harry brightened up and said, "I've got an idea, come on." He grabbed her hand, led her to the fireplace, and they took the Floo to WWW.

"Come to lend a wand?" asked George excitedly.

Ginny looked at Harry, unsure of what his intentions were. "Uh, maybe later, mate. Right now we have some shopping to do," replied Harry, leading Ginny out the door. She gave her brother a shrug and waved. She began to guess her fiancé's destination when they turned down the street.

"I can't afford a new broom, Harry!" she exclaimed.

He stopped and gave her an exasperated look. "Don't you remember our talk about how to handle money matters?"

"Of course, but this would be a very expensive personal purchase, not something for our house or a ten-Sickle pair of socks."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I need a new broom. Unless you'd rather fly that old Silver Arrow?" He smiled when he saw the light in her eyes at the thought. Harry laughed when she began to splutter and pulled her along the cobblestone path.

At the Quality Quidditch Shop, Harry found a Nimbus 2000 touring model that was good for long trips, comfortable and ideal for his new job as an Auror. It cost 700 Galleons. Harry winced at the price-tag. He couldn't believe that McGonagall had spent so much gold on him. He'd have to think of a few nice Christmas gifts for her. He probably would have anyway, with everything she'd done both during and after the war.

The best Quidditch brooms were the Firebolts. And the best Firebolts were the Special Editions, customized to the player and position. You purchased a Firebolt for 15,000 Galleons, and the company did its best to set the spells to your weight and position. There were charms on the broom that recorded your playing, and you could take it back to the factory to get the broom adjusted as often as you wanted. Harry thought that they ought to do all of that, considering the price.

Ginny looked at the broom, listened to the sales pitch and was told that they could do the special spells and let her try out the broom. Once she tried out the broom, she said, "Oh Harry, this is the best broom I have ever been on. I would love it. But it is so expensive!"

Harry said, "Sure, it's expensive. You want to be a professional Quidditch player. I want to make you happy. Nothing would make me happier than to see you on this broom. Take if for me, please!"

When she still hesitated, he added, "This is an investment in your career. If there was something that I needed to keep me safe as an Auror, would you tell me not to get it because it was too expensive?"

"That's not at all the same," she scoffed, but she was pleased that he called it an investment and acted as though her career as a Harpies' chaser was a fait accompli.

In the end, Ginny was very excited, thrilled with the broom and said, "Oh, thank you, Harry, thank you! We have to get back so that I can feed Teddy. Don't tell anyone how much this broom cost, please!"

Harry pulled out his little money pouch and counted out a hundred Galleons. He pressed them into Ginny's hand. "What's this for?" she asked.

"This is to get you used to spending money. I'll ask Bill about getting you a key to the vaults. I don't know if we have to actually be married before you have full access though. In the meantime just say something if you need more."

"Harry, I've never had this much gold in my pocket! What can I do with it? I don't want to waste it," she said reverently, her hand shaking slightly with the weight of the coins.

"Do anything you want with it," said Harry. "We have plenty of money. Remember how much gold there was in my vaults? Don't worry about spending a little of it, try to enjoy it."

"I've always had to be so careful about spending money, Harry," Ginny said. "Thank you for giving me some."

"Let me know when you need more," Harry replied. "There is no reason for you to ever be short of money."

"You're sure you have enough?" asked Ginny, feeling worried. What if she accidentally spent it all?

"I'm sure," Harry assured her. "And it's 'we have enough' not 'I have enough.' That gold belongs to both of us."

* * *

Monday, at about nine in the morning, everybody was gathered in the large drawing room of Grimmauld Place. The old wizard who seemed to preside over every wedding and funeral was there.

"How are you holding up?" Arthur asked the little man, imagining that there was a great deal of pressure on the elderly man just then.

"Toughest two weeks in my life," the little man said. "Too many funerals and way too many young people. There were another twenty people killed before or right after the battle. Thank you for asking, Arthur."

The little wizard then said, "This will be the last chance you have to view your loved ones. This is the place in the funeral where there is one last chance to open the burial shroud and look at the face of your loved one, if you want to say a brief goodbye."

Michael Appledorn went first. He opened the shroud and looked at the face of his wife, perfectly preserved by the coroner's charms. "We're not going to live out our lives side by side liked we'd planned, but I got gravesites next to each other so we can spend eternity together. God I'm going to miss you, Grace."

Dick, the middle son, looked at his father and mother. "She's really dead? We're never going to see Mum again?"

Tom said to his brother, "She's really dead, Dick."

"What's dead? When will Mum be back?" little Harry asked, breaking the heart of every adult in the room.

"She's not coming back, boys," Michael said. "When we die we will all be together again. Until then we have to live without her."

"I want Mum back!" Harry said, his eyes showing his horror at his father's words.

"We all do, son, but we can't get her back," said Michael, pulling his youngest child into his arms for a moment. The little boy wriggled out of his father's embrace and crossed his arms over his chest with a scowl on his face. Michael sighed and let his son go.

Michael kissed his wife one last time and closed the burial shroud. The little wizard touched the lid to the coffin with his wand, and it moved into place, fastening itself down.

Rosemary was next. She opened the burial shroud and looked at her husband. Her daughters cautiously gathered beside her.

"I'll be strong for the girls, Bill, but I can never take your place," she said. "I always felt so safe and warm in your arms. We made three beautiful, smart girls together. I'll always miss you." She kissed her husband.

Cinnamon leaned in and kissed her dad, tears running down her face.

Coriander had a panicky look on her face. She got close to her dad, then turned around and screamed, "NO! NO! IS'T NOT FAIR! DAD CAN'T BE DEAD!" Both of her sisters went over and hugged her. Little Cardamom looked like she had no idea what was going on, but she hugged her sisters and said, "Don't cry. Don't cry."

Rosemary looked at her daughters, closed the shroud and nodded to the wizard. He put the lid on the casket.

It took about fifteen minutes before the girls were calm.

The little wizard turned to the Weasley family.

"I don't need to see your face, Fred," George said, standing next to the coffin but not opening the shroud. "I see it every time I look in a mirror. I can't get away from you. I just feel so incomplete! I've spent my whole life waiting for you to say something and now everybody expects me to take the lead.

We've talked about how much fun a funeral could be, with fireworks and pranks. Damn it, Fred, funerals are no fun! The problem with being dead is that you're so damn permanently, finally dead."

George looked at the rest of the family. "Can we close the lid now?" he asked.

Arthur and Molly both nodded yes, even though they hadn't gotten to say good-bye themselves.

Andromeda was sitting in the corner with two witches from St. Mungo's, one on each side of her. She looked down at the floor, not at anyone, obviously shaking. "I can't, I can't, I can't," she whispered.

Harry took Ginny by the hand. Ginny was carrying Teddy, and the three of them went over to the coffins of Nymphadora and Remus Lupin. Harry opened the shroud of Remus first. "We'll take care of Teddy, Remus. Teddy is going to grow up knowing that his father was one of the finest people I ever knew; a hero not only at Hogwarts but in his whole live. You didn't have nearly enough peace and happiness in your life. May you rest in peace next to the woman who loved you and gave you this beautiful child." Harry kissed Remus and Ginny did as well, and they closed the shroud.

Then they opened the shroud for Tonks. Ginny looked at her face, down at Teddy and lost just lost it, the tears and sobs wracking her body. Molly got up to comfort her daughter. But she took one look at Tonks, looked at Andromeda, and she started to bawl too. Arthur rushed up to comfort his wife.

"It's ... a mother's … worst nightmare," Molly finally got out. "Dying and leaving a nursing infant. We can never take your place, but Teddy will grow up surrounded by love. I promise you that, Tonks, I promise you that."

"I'll do my best to be his mum, when I can," Ginny said, cuddling the baby closer to her. "Harry and I just can't start a family right now or I'd … I'll never take your place, Tonks!"

"Thank you for making me Teddy's godfather," Harry said. "We will make sure that Teddy is taken care of, and Tonks, we'll take care of your mum as well. I'll make sure they will never lack for anything they need and make sure that they have more love than they need."

"They are going to live with us, Tonks," said Molly, sniffling. "They will never be without a loving family, I promise you that. Goodbye, until we meet on the other side."

Harry kissed Tonks and turned to the rest of the family. First Ginny, then Molly, then Arthur did the same. Andromeda was still sitting down and shaking. Harry indicated that the coffin should be closed.

"We are leaving Andromeda here while we go to the Weasley family site," Arthur said, the healers nodding to let them know that they wouldn't leave her side for a moment.

Monday was gray and somber, a little windy, with a threat of rain. It stayed that way all day, but it did not rain. Michael and Rosemary each dug part of their spouses's graves. Since there were so many strong Weasleys, they helped finish those graves. Then the Weasleys dug Fred's grave, everyone helping.

Molly seemed to have mostly cried herself out over Fabian and was able to concentrate on Fred's funeral, although you could tell she was trying hard not to look in the direction of Fabian's grave.

George Weasley was holding on to Angelina Johnson like his life depended on it as the family tried to say something about Fred and all of the Fred and George adventures. George would smile at the mention of some of the adventures, but the tears never really stopped. There would be time later to remember Fred, but the attempt at levity died pretty quickly. The tears were a lot better than how George had behaved just after Fred had been killed, however. George had spent hours not showing any emotion, just staring off in space.

When everybody was done, George pulled Angelina close to himself and whispered something to her. She said, "George is working on a tombstone for Fred, a really unusual stone befitting the pranksters. When he is working on it he seems happy, pleased he can give Fred a great send off. Then it gets to be too much, and sometimes I have to go down to the workshop and rescue him. Plus we have to keep the business running. He told me yesterday what he sort of wanted to do but asked me to let you know what was going on if all this got to be too much. I guess it has."

"Thank you, Angie," said George. "It's been getting better, but …" and he went around to each family member and gave each one a hug, ending up with Angelina again. George the prankster had no jokes, no pranks, just lots of sobs and tears. When his handkerchief was so wet that it would hold no more liquid, she pulled a few more out of her bag and used one of them herself. In that moment, she knew that she would give anything in the world to be on another of those awful dates with both George and Fred, even if it was just once more.

The little wizard took his wand and lowered the casket into the ground. He said a couple of spells silently over the grave.

After they were done with George, Michael said, "Rest in peace, Grace. I'll do the best I can with the boys."

Tom said, "Bye, Mum. I'll miss you. You were just the best Mum in the world, and it's not going to be the same, but we'll survive."

Dick said, "It's not fair, Mum. I'll miss you." Dick then went to his father and started crying again, burying his face in Michael's robes.

Tom had Harry in his arms, and whispered, "Say 'bye, Mum."

Harry said quite loudly, "By, Mum! Can she hear us? BYE-BYE."

Rosemary then went over to the casket of her husband and said, "One final parting. I'm not going to be coming back here much, Bill. We have to make a life for the people left behind. Rest in peace. When I die, I'll be right here beside you."

Rosemary looked at the girls, who all shook their heads to indicate they did not want to say anything. Since the graves were close, separated only by the places that would eventually hold Michael and Rosemary, the little wizard then put the coffins in the ground at the same time.

When Bill Bayleaf's coffin was lowered into the ground, Coriander screamed. Rosemary pulled her middle daughter into her arms and rocked her back and forth, knowing that she just knew here father was leaving but not really understanding how or why. Cinnamon held Cardamom in her arms as the little wizard did the spells over the graves.

If graves were dug by hand, the dirt was filled back in by magic, and if you did not know better, you would never believe that there had just been three burials.

There were a lot of people in Ottery St. Catchpole who knew the Weasleys, and despite the day and time, there was a fair representation of people from the town. Most of them greeted Arthur and Molly and the children that they knew. There were very few people helping to mourn the Appledorn and Bayleaf families. They had been cut off from their Muggle relatives by the war. And some of their magical friends, seeing how first the Appledorn house and then the Bayleaf house had been destroyed by Death Eaters, were afraid to come.

There were about a dozen Aurors around the group at the funeral, and a couple of wizards Apparated in the vicinity of the funeral and just as promptly disappeared. They'd remained unobtrusive, just making sure that no one could disturb this important family's time of sorrow.

The extended Weasley clan then went to Godric's Hollow. Arthur went back to get Andromeda, who came accompanied by the two healers. Again, they dug graves for Nymphadora and Remus, while Andromeda watched.

"Andromeda is having a hard time even being here," said Molly, in an aside.

Arthur said, "We all know what a tragedy this is. We are just going to put the bodies in the graves, and say the anti-coroner's spells."

There were a fair number of people from Godric's Hollow to help the families mourn Nymphadora and Remus. They hugged or greeted Andromeda and usually the Weasley family as well.

At the end of the service, Harry noticed Narcissa Malfoy standing at a distance, accompanied by an Auror. Harry pointed this out to Andromeda, and when he did, Andromeda pushed Harry in front of her. "Don't let her hurt me, please," pleaded Andromeda. "Don't let her hurt Teddy!"

She looked wildly around for her grandson. Ginny held him a little tighter to reassure Andromeda.

Molly said, "I'll go over and talk to Narcissa." She walked the few feet to Narcissa. In a voice that she tried to make kindly and not accusatory, not all that successfully, Molly asked, "What do you want?"

Narcissa said, "I am so sorry. I wanted to tell Andromeda that I was so sorry that her daughter was killed."

"Sorry that your Death Eaters killed her husband and daughter and son-in-law? Sorry that your family disinherited her?" Molly was even less successful that time, letting the venom drip from her tongue.

"I am so sorry," said Narcissa again quietly.

"I killed your sister," said Molly, in a cold voice. "She tortured my baby and was trying to kill my daughter. May she rot in hell for all the evil she did."

Narcissa looked down at the ground, then back up at Molly. "I am so sorry," she said still again. "I hope that I can do some good in the time I have left to, in some small way, make up for all of the bad my sister and husband have done."

Molly looked back at Andromeda. She was saying something urgently to Ginny, who disappeared along with the Appleleaf family and everybody else, except Harry, Arthur and Andromeda.

As Molly was talking to Narcissa, Andromeda was telling Ginny and the rest, "They want to kill Teddy. Please take him away, hide him. Please go right now."

Harry quickly took charge and said, "Arthur and I will stay here with Andromeda. The rest of you go back to my house right now!"

"How is Andromeda?" asked Narcissa timidly, not daring to approach her sister.

"Terrible," said Molly unrepentantly. "She is another casualty of this war. She looks at Teddy and says, 'No mother, no father, no money, no nothing,' and cries. She lies in bed curled up, not functioning, crying most of the day. The worse is that there are so many worse off than her that we have not been able to get much care for her yet."

"I'm losing my other sister to this war too," said Narcissa, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Do you have any idea how many people were hurt by your husband and those Death Eaters?" asked Molly. "That couple with the six children, each lost a spouse to this war, all of the children lost a parent. They still have a parent. What about the two little girls we found crying by their dead father and brother? Your Death Eaters killed their mother two years ago. And my husband tells me that at least they were at Hogwarts and had food and a roof, and they were trying to take care of people who were starving and in worse shape! Sorry! Sorry! Well, I'm sorry if sorry just doesn't cut it!"

Narcissa just stood there. Harry, Arthur and Andromeda approached. Narcissa put her hands out face up and tremulously said, "I am so sorry Nymphadora was killed, Andromeda."

Andromeda said, "No sister. No husband, no daughter, no son-in-law, no nothing."

"Is there anything I can do to help, Andromeda?" asked Narcissa.

"GIVE ME MY DAUGHTER BACK!" yelled Andromeda. "Teddy needs a mummy."

"I cannot do that, but is there anything I can do for you and your grandson, my nephew?" asked Narcissa, her eyes searching her sister's face pleadingly.

"Not my sister, not your nephew, remember," said Andromeda. "I married a Mudblood."

"I would like to be your sister again," said Narcissa.

Andromeda started to cry, looking down. "No mummy, no daddy, no money, no aunts, no uncles." Looking right at Narcissa with an angry look on her face, she said, "Spawn of a werewolf and a Mudblood." Then looking down again, she repeated, "No nothing." She grabbed Molly's hand and started to walk away.

Narcissa looked at Harry and Arthur in horror.

Harry said, "Thank you for the gesture, Narcissa. Thank you for lying for me in the forest."

"Oh, Harry," said Narcissa, her eyes following Andromeda as she retreated. "Is there any way that I can make up for all of the evil that my husband and sister, my family has done?"

"No," said Harry honestly. "No, probably not, but it's better to try to do some good. Any good is better than not trying."

"Thank you, Harry," Narcissa said as she grabbed his hand, not shaking it but holding it with her two hands. Turning to Arthur, she grabbed his hand and said, "I am so sorry for your losses. Thank you for taking care of Andromeda. If there is anything I can do to help her or anyone, let me know." Arthur squeezed back at her gesture but did not say anything. Narcissa then turned to the Auror who was accompanying her and said, "I might as well go home."

Arthur and Harry followed Molly and Andromeda to Andromeda's house and found it vandalized. Remus and Nymphadora had lived in her old bedroom, and it was obvious that the family did not have much money. There was very little missing, but most of the windows were broken and stuff was scattered all around. No one felt safe having Andromeda and Teddy living alone. They did try to take as many personal possessions from the house as possible.

One of the Aurors did go up to Arthur and say that people had been in the house within the last hour or so. If there had not been a visible Auror presence, there could have been a trap laid for them in the house.

The entire family went back to 12 Grimmauld Place for a very late lunch. George was obviously upset, and before the lunch was finished, Angelina told Molly, "We're going back to the Wheezes." She took George's hand and they left via the Floo.

"I'm only going to stay another week or two," Charley announced. "I think George will be all right once WWW is open again. Angelina's good for him, even when they fight. At least when they are fighting, George is not moping around depressed." He and Lee left almost immediately after that.

Bill got up and took a deep breath. It was obvious that he was exhausted mentally and physically. "Fleur and I are going back to Shell Cottage to try to get some rest and maybe spend a little time looking at the ocean. It's been a very long two and a half weeks, and we have busy weeks ahead of us." Bill and Fleur got up and gave everybody hugs, and then they took their leave.

It was not long before everybody was in a separate part of the house, lost in their own melancholy thoughts.

Harry and Ginny ended up in their bedroom, lying on one of the beds just holding each other. Neither of them could relax or fall asleep. Neither of them even felt like kissing. Harry was mentally going over all of the things that he could have done differently, feeling guilty over the deaths all over again. It just seemed unfair that so many other people were dead, and here he was not only alive, but with Ginny lying next to him.

Ginny was going over all the people whom she knew that were dead. She was very grateful that Harry was not one of them, but the losses, not only of her brother but of so many others, had touched her deeply.

Neither of them slept very well that night.

* * *

Authors Notes

For those of you interested, Harry's broom cost about 3,500 British pounds or $5,000 US, an expensive broom by Wizarding standards. The special Firebolt cost over 75,000 British pounds or over $105,000 US dollars, a staggering amount of money to pay for a broom. Professional players were slowly buying them; they were really that good, but it was hard for all but the best of the professional players to afford them.

This chapter was intensively rewritten because of the help of my beta LadymBlack. She has an excellent story going as well, very different than mine although we share some very similar ideas about what the end of the war would be like.


	13. Ch 13, Classes and Trials

Almost Happily Ever After

Ch 13 Classes and Trials

_"Oh Harry" said Ginny. "I had no idea your childhood was THIS bad!"_

* * *

Tuesday morning, Kreacher made breakfast as usual. Harry and Michael told Kreacher that he was going to have to come with them and leave the dishes to the people staying home. Kreacher was not happy to be leaving the house. But Michael said that Kreacher was needed, and so he left with Harry and Michael.

There was a message later that day that Molly and Rosemary should make dinner and that Harry, Michael and Kreacher would be back at about 8:00 PM. They were also to set a place for Kreacher at the table.

That evening at the dinner table, Harry announced, "From now on Kreacher is going to be going to work with Michael every weekday morning and coming back with him. I have ordered him to allow Molly and Rosemary to take care of the house and to make meals so that he can concentrate on the Harry Potter Estate matters. Please do not ask Kreacher to do anything. If something needs Kreacher's help, talk to me or to Michael."

Kreacher sat on one side of Harry, and Ginny on the other of Harry. She heard Kreacher say, "Is hard. Kreacher is house-elf, not huge-estates-manager-elf."

"We need you. Michael, Bill and the goblins trying to straighten out the estates need you," said Harry, smiling at Kreacher's reluctance. "Bill's wife Fleur talked about how hard it was to let her house guests make meals for her while she went to work with Bill. And they've said that you've been such a huge help at the bank."

"Is true, but is hard," agreed Kreacher.

Ginny asked, "Is Fleur working with Bill? I thought she was helping the healers."

Harry replied, "Fleur has some training in healing, but there are enough healers now. Most of her advanced training is in banking and finance. She was working at Gringotts, had kept working there part time after she and Bill were married. She is helping Bill and Michael with the estate. And since she is my 'sister-in-love' because we are engaged, she can do things that some other people cannot do."

"It's a good thing we're engaged then," said Ginny.

Harry responded by giving Ginny a little kiss, right there at the dinner table.

Harry left every morning with Michael and Kreacher to meet with Bill to try to solve estate problems every day except Sunday from Tuesday May 19 until Friday May 29. He left at about 8:00 AM and got back between 6:00 and 8:00 PM. Arthur Weasley left for work and came back at about the same time. Dinner was always interesting, as Arthur shared what was going on at the Ministry, Harry and Michael explained what was going on with the Harry Potter Estates and Molly and Ginny told them what was going on with the new house. There were also usually stories about what the children had been doing. Of course, Teddy was growing like mad; little babies grow faster the first year than in any other time of their life, and every couple of days, Ginny and Molly noticed some evidence of Teddy's growth. It was Harry's greatest regret about having to work such long hours, missing the amount of time he had been able to spend with Teddy previously.

hr /

Thursday the 21st, Kreacher was not at the dinner table. Michael said that Kreacher needed to talk to Aristotle and some other house-elves about some things. He said to Ginny, "Your friend Hermione has been helping us read some of the documents relating to the Harry Potter Estate, especially ones written in runes. She is one of the smartest people I've ever met but not always the most tactful."

"Was she promoting elf-rights again?" asked Ginny, guessing at the situation.

"Everybody wants to do the right thing for elves and goblins as well as wizards," said Harry. "It's just that justice and doing the right thing is not as simple as just giving all elves freedom."

"Harry is being too humble," said Michael. "Elf rights are very tricky because they have been charmed to want to belong to wizards and to be connected to somebody or something. Harry is trying to make things better for house-elves without being as dogmatic as Hermione."

"Hermione dogmatic?" asked Ginny grinning at the description of one her closest friends. Harry just shook his head.

"She put her foot in her mouth about goblin rights as well," said Michael. "Harry has made a lot of progress by insisting that goblins be treated with respect. And when it comes to his money, any errors or questionable funds should be decided on the side of the goblins. As Harry rightly points out, we would not know about a lot of this money and other estate properties without the goblins. It wouldn't be fair to try and cheat them out of their share. Harry says we should be more than generous with them. It makes sense, but that's not the history of wizard and goblin relations. Of course, every time Harry makes sure the goblins do very well in one of these estates, they seem to find another estate or more assets in one of the estates."

"Hermione complains about that?" asked Ginny.

"Not exactly, but some of the issues between goblins and wizards are a little more subtle than she realized," said Michael.

"Today was her last day working on the estate," said Harry. "At least until she is back from Australia with her parents."

"Will that solve the problems?" asked Ginny.

"Not really," said Harry. "Maybe with Kreacher not here, we can talk about some of the issues. Kreacher is talking to Aristotle because of how complex some of the problems are. Sometimes we think it is just a problem of the witches and wizards, but there are other problems."

"Like what?" asked Ginny.

"Wizards sometimes think that the only thing that matters is the way wizards relate to house-elves, how wizards relate to goblins," said Michael. "We were very involved in a most complex estate. There were four goblins: Kreacher, Aristotle and two different house-elves related to the estate in question. Harry asked, 'Why do goblins trust house-elves?' Hermione said, 'Because house-elves did not take sides during the goblin wars.' This resulted in a great deal of discussion and posturing."

Harry chimed in, "I finally asked if Hermione was wrong. Aristotle asked for silence, and then said, 'Are many histories of that time. All are a little true, none are all the truth. Who does telling truth help, and what is truth? Complicated.'"

Michael continued the story. "It turns out that not only is there a history of conflict between goblins and wizards, but also a history of conflict and disagreements between house-elves and goblins. House-elves are not as isolated or as subservient as some wizards think they are."

"I've asked Kreacher to always do what, in the long run, will be best for house-elves and goblins as well as for wizards," said Harry. "I've asked Kreacher to live his life as an example of how house-elves should be treated. Kreacher always says, 'Is subversives.' I'm asking him to be subversive."

"Kreacher subversive?" asked Ginny.

"I think Kreacher means he is helping change the relationship between us and house-elves," Harry pondered. "He complains a little and then grins. I think he is enjoying being subversive, even though it is against some of his deepest instincts. It's sort of like being giving permission to do something that was otherwise forbidden."

"And he is enjoying it?" Ginny asked.

"There is more to Kreacher than anyone expected, me included," Harry said, trying to think through the situation himself. "Kreacher really wants to please me, to do what I want. He knows that I want house elves to be, maybe not free like Hermione thinks of it, but equal partners, fully respected members of the Wizarding community. Maybe more like a loyal employee with a really good job and respect, not an abject slave. We've talked about it, actually quite a bit when we have both had time, and Kreacher is trying really hard to understand what I want. He's trying really hard to want what I want. Sort of like ordering a slave to want to be free, or to want a better future for his kind or something like that."

"That IS kind of hard to understand," Ginny said, recognizing what was giving all of them headaches over the situation.

"It's kind of hard to talk about, because just saying that you want house elves to be free isn't the point," Harry said. "Free like Winky, free but miserable?"

"No," Ginny replied, having met the depressed elf.

"Freer, happy, and respected as equal beings with Wizards, goblins and centaurs, well, not all Wizards are very good at respecting those beings either."

"You only want to change everything." Ginny grinned.

"Well, only for the better, and not all at once, and I sure don't want to do it all by myself," Harry said. "After all, I'm not very important."

Ginny looked at Harry, put her hands on her hips, and started to lecture Harry. "Not important! Be serious! You really haven't done much, just defeated the worst dark wizard ever before you turned eighteen. And in addition to that, I have a list about seven parchments long of all of the things you have done."

Harry shut up. The last thing he wanted was for Ginny to list all of the things he had done. He still didn't feel as special as so many people were telling him he was. It was a lot to live up to. But he knew better than to contradict Ginny too loudly.

* * *

Friday morning May 29, Harry was at a meeting with Kingsley and several other witches and wizards. There was going to be a Wizengamot session that afternoon, and they wanted to plan what they were going to do. One of the first things they wanted to do was to install Arthur Weasley as a member, because of the seat Harry had given to him and because he was Head of Magical Law Enforcement. Kingsley expected some dissent, but in the end, Arthur became a permanent member rather easily.

There was quite a bit of discussion about the prison at Azkaban and whether or not they should continue to use dementors in the prison. Harry, as by far the youngest person at the meeting, kept quiet until he was asked his opinion. He finally said, "I would be happy if the dementors were banished from the earth. Most of you know some of my story, how much I've suffered because of Tom Riddle and the gang of people we are trying to put in Azkaban. I still don't want them tortured by dementors. Not even people who gave me or the people I love scars."

"It's going to be a hard job to convince people that we should keep the dementors out of Azkaban," Kingsley said, but Harry indicated that he would try.

The afternoon session went well. The only trials were of reasonably low level people, and most of the sentences were fairly mild.

* * *

Saturday May 30, they went to the Longbottom wedding, which was held at the Longbottom mansion. Both families were well represented, and Neville's parents were even there. When the time came in the ceremony for Neville's parents to provide a charm, they even vaguely repeated the words of the charm after the wizard leading the ceremony slowly talked them through it. Afterwards, Alice gave Neville another wrapper of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, which Neville kept like he always did. Hanna's father said the charms for her side of the family, Hanna's mother having been one of the many victims of Tom Riddle and the Death Eaters.

Sunday May 31, Hermione left for Australia to find her parents, restore their memories and bring them back.

Monday morning June 1 at about ten minutes before 8:00 AM, Harry and Ron walked into Professor Slughorn's Potions classroom. Harry had always hated the dungeon, and the classroom always reminded him of Snape. Remembering how Snape had loved his mother, and what Snape sacrificed to save the magical world, Harry's feelings were more mixed now. Harry and Ron both had the required seventh year Potions text and cauldron. There were already two students in the classroom when Harry and Ron walked in, and by the time the last student rushed into the classroom at one minute past eight, there were a total of ten students.

"How many of you are staying at Hogwarts during the week?" Slughorn asked. Six hands were raised. One more timid hand was raised. "Yes, miss, who are you?"

"Withywhittle, Winona Withywhittle. I'm taking the Floo from home every day, but I should be here five days a week. I just have to leave by four thirty so I can be home before my husband leaves for work at five."

"You were supposed to be in seventh year last year," Slughorn said.

"If the Death Eaters hadn't killed my sister, leaving my brother-in-law with three little children, and if he and I didn't, well, with another one on the way, we thought I should finish up my education as soon as possible," Winona said, getting very fluttery.

"Seven with a regular schedule. That leaves Potter, Weasley, and Jones, Megan Jones. What's your problem, Megan?"

"I have to be gone all day Thursdays to take my dad to the hospital. Mum never learned Muggle transportation, and she has to stay at home with the younger children," Megan said.

"What's the problem with your dad?" asked a suddenly more sympathetic Slughorn.

"He's a, well, sort of a squib. He can do a little magic, but he's mostly Muggle and he got hurt in a Muggle construction accident," Megan said. "He fell and hurt his back and now he can't do almost anything. We're on the dole, which is all right I guess. Money goes a lot further when you're a witch. But I did not go to school last year because of the troubles, and I need to earn some money to send my sister, she's going to be twelve, she started last year, if she's back, and my brother, he's eleven, to Hogwarts. Between taking care of the baby and Dad, Mum can't work, even if she was a better witch, which she's not, except for some domestic spells."

Harry turned to Megan and said, "There is scholarship money available for all seven years, including books and supplies, if needed, Megan. See me after class sometime in the next two weeks."

Megan looked stunned. "After what I tried to do?" she whispered, looking frightened that Harry was even speaking to her. "I'm lucky I'm not in Azkaban."

"You were only trying to protect your sister. I can understand that. See me after class!" he replied gently, with an encouraging and sympathetic smile.

"Weasley, what's your schedule?" Slughorn inquired.

"I may have to leave in the middle of the afternoon to help tend the store or miss a couple of sessions. I should be here almost every morning," Ron responded.

"Potter?" asked Slughorn.

Harry took a deep breath. "I'm going to have to be gone some Tuesdays and Thursdays on estate matters. I can ask Bill Weasley if we can do as much as possible in the afternoon or evening so I'm here in the morning when everybody else is here. Then I'm on the Wizengamot, and we have trials every Friday. I'm free Saturday. We have a potions room in the basement of our house."

"You are going to be a challenge, Potter, but don't worry; we'll figure it out," Slughorn said. "I'll give you tomorrow's assignment and Wednesday's before you leave."

Harry was back to the house on Grimmauld Place at a little before five. "Easy day?" asked Ginny.

"Look at this homework," Harry said, pointing to two tightly written paragraphs of things he needed to read, essays he needed to write and potions he needed to make. "Since I am not going to be there tomorrow, I have to make these potions tomorrow night and bring in samples Wednesday morning. I hope I have a chance to work on this homework when I'm working with Bill tomorrow."

"There is something else bothering you, Harry," Ginny said. "I can tell."

"Megan Jones is in the class," Harry said. "I cannot help thinking about her poor sister. She still hopes that Nora will be back in class, but no one I talk to has much hope."

* * *

Friday morning, Harry had to go to the Ministry. He did get a chance to ask Arthur Weasley, "Do you know anything more about Nora Jones?"

"No, Harry. I will let you know if we find out anything. It looks grim, and I would rather not talk about it back at Grimmauld Place."

"What about Pansy Parkinson?" Harry asked.

"The Parkinsons won't talk to us, and I'm really worried about that situation too," Arthur said. "There is nothing we can do about it, however, if they won't cooperate."

"Anything else?" Harry asked.

"Lot,s" Arthur said. "It's still not nearly as safe as it should be. You're not an Auror yet. I'll do my best to fill you in during the evening, if you have any spare time."

"Spare time is getting to be hard to come by," Harry said, as he took his leave of Arthur.

Arthur frowned. He and Molly had hoped that the end of the war would lift a lot of the burden off of their children, most particularly Harry. Instead, the opposite seemed to have occurred. Everyone now wanted a piece of him, and it was all they could do to give him as much assistance as possible. Arthur knew that Harry's shoulders were strong, but he wished there were something more they could do. But things were calling Arthur's attention, and he couldn't dwell as much on the problem as he'd like.

* * *

Saturday morning, Harry walked into the Potions classroom with the last of his homework. "Done," Harry said.

"Let's see if we can make up Thursday's potion that you had trouble with Thursday night," Slughorn said. By noon, the potion was correctly made, and Horace Slughorn said, "Well, Harry, you're all caught up. Three more weeks of this and you will probably pass your NEWTS."

"Probably is not good enough," Harry replied tightly. "If I need more study, let me know."

Harry got back to Grimmauld Place in time for a late lunch. After he finished, Ginny looked at the tired young man in front of her and said, "Harry, why don't you take a little nap?"

Harry shook his head. Never mind that he had almost fallen asleep at the table. Ginny helped Harry get up, walked him up to their bedroom and put him in the bed. She kissed him lightly and went back down to the kitchen where she and her mother were looking over house plans for maybe the hundredth time, trying to pick out colors, trying to stay on top of all of the details that building a new house entailed.

"I'm worried about him, Mum," Ginny said. "I'm worried about us. Harry needs to find some time to relax."

* * *

There had been a full docket of trials in May, but they were all rather straightforward cases. Most of them were low level allies of Voldemort, almost more common criminals than major Death Eaters. Many had been ordinary Ministry workers who had sympathized with the pureblood cause and then supported the seized government by enacting Voldemort's reign of terror.

The first major trial was on Friday June 5, that of Lucius Malfoy. He looked like an utterly defeated man, and his defense wizard pointed out that "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" had confiscated Lucius's wand, which was subsequently destroyed by Harry Potter on the night that he'd left his aunt and uncle's house the previous summer. He had played no part in the last battle.

Kingsley Shacklebolt reminded the defense attorney to say "Tom Riddle" and not "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Harry almost chortled at that; it was a small victory in his favor and endeared Kingsley more strongly to him.

Most of the first part of the trial consisted of what, for Harry, seemed like a recitation of all of the known facts of Lucius's history. Harry learned more of what Lucius had done during the first war, how he had gotten such a short prison sentence after Riddle disappeared, and what people knew he had done during the second war. Harry was called on to tell what he had witnessed in person, but the prosecutor did not ask about the times Harry could see what Riddle was thinking.

Finally, the defense wizard asked Harry, "Is it true that you could tell what He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was thinking?"

Harry immediately replied, "I defeated the man Tom Riddle. He may have called himself Lord Voldemort, but he wasn't the lord of anything. And he's gone; there's no sense in calling him "You-Know-Who" or "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." The sooner we call him by his proper name the better. I ask, plead, that the Wizengamot insist on using Tom's proper name in these trials."

"No one but you had the foolishness to call him …Tom… Riddle," the defense wizard said.

"Professor Dumbledore called him Tom," Harry countered with. "I heard him at the Battle at the Ministry. Besides, Riddle's dead. His body, what pathetic excuse he had for a body, lies here in the Department of Mysteries. Riddle is dead! Tom Riddle, who used the name Lord Voldemort to incite fear and suffering, is gone, and the sooner we stop fearing him the better!"

Kingsley said, "The Ministry is trying to enforce a rule that, if at all possible, we use Tom Riddle's name. You will do the same or we will call you out of order."

The defense wizard restated the question. "Is it true that you could tell what …Tom … Riddle was thinking?" One could tell that it was very difficult for the wizard to say 'Tom Riddle.'

"Sometimes, when there were very strong emotions. Yes, there were times when I had some insight into what Tom was thinking. It's not like I could read his mind and knew everything."

"Did he trust Lucius, consider him a trusted ally?"

"I don't think Riddle trusted anyone or anything," Harry replied. "I certainly did not have enough insight into the workings of his mind to tell you who he distrusted more than anyone else."

"As far as you knew, Lucius only obeyed Riddle because he feared him," the defense wizard said.

"I don't know that," Harry countered with. "As far as I could see, Lucius Malfoy was eager to carry out all parts of Riddle's agenda, even the most repugnant of them."

"But you don't know for sure," the defense wizard replied kindly. "You really didn't have that much insight into Tom Riddle's mind."

"My impression of how eager Lucius Malfoy was to help Tom Riddle and his kind has much more to do with how I saw Mr. Malfoy act over the years than to any special insight into Tom Riddle's thinking. As far as I can tell, even if there never was a Tom Riddle, Mr. Malfoy would have eagerly participated in and even directed crimes against Muggles and witches or wizards with Muggle blood in their ancestry. When Riddle resurrected his body, he mentioned that Mr. Malfoy was 'still ready to take the lead in a spot of Muggle-torture. He insulted my infant godson just after the battle. I don't believe he has really learned anything."

"And you know this as a child observing the actions of adults?"

Harry looked at the defense wizard trying to figure out how to respond to this question. Finally, he said, "I have not felt like a child for a long time, not after all the things I've been through."

"I guess killing does that to you," the wizard sneered.

"I haven't killed anyone, except Tom Riddle, and I didn't really have a choice there. I parried his killing curse and it killed him," Harry answered.

"I find that hard to believe, but I have no more questions," the defense wizard said.

Harry looked like he was not through, and the prosecuting witch asked Harry gently, "Do you have anything more to say, Harry?"

"It's just that I've seen way too much death," Harry said. "I saw people killed in front of me. I saw through Tom Riddle's eyes as he killed without remorse. It still haunts me. I've had a chance to kill, and except for Riddle, I have NOT killed anyone. That's one of the things that most concerns me about Lucius; he does not seem to have any reluctance to kill.

"I do not fear death, and when my time comes, I will not stay here as a ghost but gladly go on. I do fear for those like Riddle and Lucius Malfoy, who kill without remorse."

After all of the evidence was presented, everyone but the Wizengamot was excused. Opinions on Lucius Malfoy's guilt and the proper sentence were solicited. There were not any members of the Wizengamot willing to vote that Malfoy was innocent, but a number of them were not all that willing to sentence him to life in prison. Harry was learning of several of the members of the Wizengamot, Anton Avery and Victor Vaisey prominent among them, who voted to convict only with reluctance and fought for shorter sentences for people Harry thought enjoyed what they had done the previous year. They were important and persistent in pleading for mercy for Lucius. Several people commented on the charitable work that Lucius had done, although to Harry, almost all of the 'charitable work' had consisted of giving money to causes in hopes of buying influence.

Al VanLente spoke up, saying, "There are a lot of bad things and people in places other than Great Britain. I do not want to reveal my sources, but I have information that Malfoy has been in contact with some of the worst of the dark wizards and witches out there. I want him put away for the rest of his life."

Harry, as the youngest, was asked last.

"I really don't trust Lucius," Harry started out. "I don't think we have begun to find out all of the criminal deeds he has committed. My recommendation is life in Azkaban, no possibility of release. I never want him in a position to influence other prisoners or guards. I'm not exactly suggesting solitary, but close to it."

In the end over seventy five percent of members voted to sentence Lucius to life in Azkaban, although the conditions of his confinement were not announced.

Arthur Weasley announced that the Department for Magical Law Enforcement was still working with Draco and Narcissa, and that they wanted to keep them under supervision but delay trials until later.

The trial and sentencing were done by four thirty. Kingsley Shacklebolt spoke to Harry and said, "I would like you to accompany me and a couple of the Aurors to Azkaban with Lucius. Even though you are the youngest member of the Wizengamot, I think that you are going to influence the sentences, and I think you ought to see the prison and meet the warden."

Harry thought of all of the homework he had to finish but had to admit that Kingsley was probably right, so he agreed.

Harry and Kingsley went down to the holding cell where Lucius Malfoy was being kept. Standing to one side were Narcissa and Draco. A middle aged wizard was waiting for them. "Harry, this is Zeke Zeller, formerly a guard and now the warden of Azkaban. He is going to accompany our prisoner to his new home.

Harry went into the holding cell. Lucius was sitting down, his hands confined behind his back, shackles on his ankles. "Last time I was taken to Azkaban they had some respect for the nobility," Lucius said. "I expect the same treatment this time."

"I saw what you and your kind did to innocent people last year," Zeke said, fists opening and closing. "I am not inclined to be merciful."

"I at least need an owl and the ability to manage the family investments," Lucius said, somehow managing to hold his head up despite his disheveled appearance and imprisoned status.

"There's no way in hell you are going to be allowed to communicate freely," said Kingsley harshly. "Anything you need to communicate, you can give to Narcissa and Draco in the next couple of minutes, while we all watch and record what you say. They are not going to be able to visit you or communicate in any way for at least a couple of months. Private communication of any kind will be strictly forbidden."

Narcissa and Draco were led in. They were told to sit down at a table a modest distance away from Lucius. Zeke said, "If you have any last minute instructions to your family, say them now. It may be months before you can see them again. Narcissa, Draco, private communication of any kind is going to be strictly forbidden."

"It wasn't this way last time," Narcissa protested with her eyebrows raised.

"No dementors roaming the cells but no privileged prisoners either," Zeke said.

"You have the keys I gave you, Draco?" Lucius asked. Draco nodded. "One opens my private desk. You are going to have to study what is in it. You MUST look over the instructions on how to take over the farm and follow them, like your ancestors have done for over a thousand years. You MUST marry a pureblood and produce a male heir, as must your son and his son. I do not intend to stay powerless, and if you fail me, I promise you will pay dearly."

Lucius turned to Narcissa. "Voldemort did not understand that certain things were out of bounds. When I get back in power, I will see that any person left alive who … we won't talk of it here. I intend to get out, regardless of the sentence. Do you understand?"

"You never were a quitter," Narcissa said.

After a brief painful period of silence, Narcissa and Draco were led out. Two bailiffs took hold of Lucius and walked him over to a special cell, where a Portkey took them to the shore overlooking Azkaban Prison. Zeke went before the Bailiffs, Kingsley and Harry following. A boat was launched, and the assembled group took it to the prison.

Harry walked down with Lucius to one of the lower levels of the prison. The cell was well below sea level, but there was a tiny slit that went up many feet, finally ending about a hundred feet above sea level. The only way one knew if it was night or day was if there was any light shining through this tiny slit.

"Dementors used to use those slits, but we have forbidden them to come into the prison. They still guard right outside the prison walls, however," the warden said.

Harry went up to a tower with Kingsley and Zeke. "This is the Tower of the Dementors, Harry," Kingsley said. "This is where we talk to them as best as we can. And if we tell them something here, they pretty much have to obey." He then said, "Produce your Patronus," and Harry and Zeke added their Partonus to the one of Kingsley as he announced, "The rules are the same. You are forbidden to cross over into the body of the prison, but must stay outside of the prison walls keeping those out from getting in and those in from getting out, except by charmed boat to the shore."

The dementors howled, but Harry could also feel that they acknowledged the power of Kingsley, Zeke, and indeed his own power too.

There was a small sense of victory in keeping the dementors out of the prison itself, but Harry was still not happy that they had to deal with them at all. Harry never quite got used to dealing with the dementors, although his career would bring him into contact with them occasionally.

When Harry got back at 9:00 PM, Ginny had the remains of dinner for Harry. He ate and worked on his homework, spending some time down in the potions room. He was in bed by two in the morning and up at seven, tired but with all of his homework for Potions finished.

* * *

A little over a week after Harry started classes, Ginny was talking to Harry at dinner. "I started practicing Quidditch yesterday. Andromeda is watching Teddy and even changing nappies. She is all right for a couple of hours at a time, until he cries. She has a very hard time when Teddy starts to cry."

"Who are you playing with?" asked Harry.

"A couple of members from the team from a couple of years ago and some witches and wizards you probably don't know, younger students who wanted to try out for the team," Ginny replied. "I can usually contact them with the Floo, and we should be able to get enough to at least practice some. It's better than nothing."

"As the summer goes on maybe you can get more students," Harry hopefully interjected.

Ginny smiled. "I'm working on it."

A couple of nights later, Ginny got the 'I want something' look on her face, shyly saying, "I've got more people who want to fly, but we really could use a good practice set of Quidditch balls. What we are using now is really sad."

"Get yourself a good set," Harry promptly replied, unsure of why this was a problem.

"An adequate set is almost a hundred Galleons," said Ginny. "And I have spent some of the money you gave me treating the people who have been practicing, taking them to lunch or for treats. I hate to ask you for gold, but I do need a little more, just a few Galleons."

"How much is a really good practice set?" asked Harry.

"Harry, I'm not asking for a really good set, a professional set," Ginny said softly.

Harry looked quizzically at Ginny and remarked, "I thought you wanted to become a professional. How much is the ideal set to prepare you for a professional career?"

"Two Hundred and Twenty Five Galleons," whispered Ginny, obviously frightened that it cost so much.

Harry reached in his pocket. Kreacher had made sure Harry always had about 500 Galleons on him, in case he needed to buy anything. Harry gave Ginny 300 of them.

"Harry, that's … that's … can we really afford to spend that much gold?" asked Ginny.

"Your brother Bill says even after we give most of the money away, I'll still be an extremely wealthy wizard," said a grinning Harry, "making you a rich witch. If you want to spend too much, if you want to buy a bunch of mansions or something, I'll suggest you be a little more careful with the gold, but this is not a lot of money from what Bill says. Besides, it would be silly for us to get a cheap practice set and then go out later and get a better one. We may as well start out with the best. It's an investment, remember?"

"Oh, Harry, thank you," Ginny said, and she gave him a lingering kiss, the biggest smile on her face.

Ginny made time to fly most days. She and Harry had several discussions about what position she should play. Finally, it was agreed that she should practice for two positions, seeker and chaser, and see what kind of players she was going to have next year. Meanwhile, Ginny did get the professional practice set of Quidditch balls, including a special practice Golden Snitch.

* * *

In the middle of June, the Dursleys were finally allowed to go home. Harry had looked into the records of memory modifications done on his aunt and uncle and Dudley. Amazingly, Dudley had very little memory modification done. Vernon was another case. They had to do a lot of memory modification with him, as well as work hard on his physical health. They were continually surprised at the amount of anger and ignorance in the man. Aunt Petunia was again a different case. Harry saw that they had taken her memories of both his parents wedding and funeral, which made Harry both sad and a little mad. He asked that no memory modification be done on Dudley or Petunia. After no little discussion, and partly because Harry Potter had asked, the Ministry agreed not to modify the memories of Petunia or Dudley. No one worried about modifying Vernon's memories.

Healers told Harry that Vernon was a heart attack waiting to happen. Both his father and grandfather had died of heart attacks before they were 50, and Vernon was going down the same road, being both very overweight and very angry most of the time. At least he had a job to go back to, and the story was that he had taken a leave of absence for his health, something that was not too far from the truth since the potions he had been given had improved his health if not his disposition.

Saturday June 13, Harry arranged to have some time off so that he could get everything he owned out of the Dursley house. He told the Weasley family at dinner on Friday, and Ginny really wanted to go with him. Ginny thought to herself that she should be able to get a much better idea about how Harry had spent the years before he went to Hogwarts, and maybe that would help her understand him better.

Right after lunch on Saturday, Harry and Ginny Apparated to a spot that Harry knew was hidden, not too far from the Dursley house. One of the Aurors Apparated there first, and another one followed. They walked over to the house, and an Auror went inside and checked everything, then indicated that they could go inside. The two Aurors stayed outside, making sure no one else went near the house.

The grounds of the house were rather shabby, although the lawn had been mowed. Whoever had taken care of the house had not gardened like Petunia; that was for sure. The inside of the house was dusty, but Harry and Ginny did some quick cleaning spells and got the house looking at least dust-free and neat. They went upstairs and cleaned the other bedrooms and then went to Harry's bedroom. There were deadbolts and a padlock on the door. Ginny was horrified. She looked at Harry and said, "Did they lock you in your room?"

"Yes, sometimes," said Harry. "My uncle really does not like magic or me."

"That must have been horrible, Harry," said Ginny.

"Your house was such a relief after living here. It was almost odd that everyone seemed to like me," said Harry. Ginny wondered if he realized how horrible that sounded and was one again thankful that her family (or Ron rather) had found him when they had. They went into the bedroom. In one corner was the small table on which Harry had kept Hedwig's cage. There were some owl droppings that had escaped at some point and a crumpled up package of owl treats. Harry looked at it and started to tear up. "I just cannot bring myself to buy another owl," he said. "I know it's just an owl, but she was my only companion many a lonely day and night, and I miss her. I feel funny using Fawkes as an owl. There is something majestic but not very comforting or cuddly about Fawkes. Riddle and his Death Eaters tried to take all of the joy out of life for everybody."

Ginny did not say anything, but she had tears in her eyes as she looked at Harry. They picked up the few clothes and other personal possessions. Then Harry said, "You have been learning a little about decorating a house. This used to be Dudley's second bedroom. Could you turn it into a guest bedroom that could also be an office or study?" Ginny did some wand work and the room had a bed, empty shelves and a desk. It looked somewhat masculine. She had Harry help her with some of the spells because she knew that the more wands involved, the more permanent such changes would be. Considering Harry's increased spell-power, she reckoned that the new furniture would be there long after both she and Harry had passed on.

As they left the room Ginny said, "Did that room always have locks on the outside?"

"Only when I moved into it just before I went to Hogwarts," said Harry matter-of-factly.

"You did not live in that room until just before you went to Hogwarts?" asked Ginny with a frown of confusion when she counted the number of bedrooms and what Harry had told her the function of each one was.

"No," said Harry tentatively, wondering if he should show her or not.

"Then where did you live?" asked Ginny.

"I guess I'd better check the cupboard," said Harry. "Maybe there is something there, and I definitely do not want to come back here again." They went downstairs, all of the few possessions that Harry had shrunk stuffed in a pocket. When they got to the bottom of the stairs, Harry turned and went to the cupboard, which was about four feet high, which led to the little space under the stairs. He opened it up and lit his wand. On the floor was obviously a thin crib mattress, with some really shabby blankets on it. There was a pair of the ugliest pair of pants that Ginny could imagine, gray and obviously badly altered, on the floor in front of the bed. "That's the type of clothes I wore," said Harry. "Those are some of Dudley's too-small clothes that Aunt Petunia dyed gray and altered to fit me, but not well. She didn't' usually dye them gray, but this was supposed to be my uniform for Stonewall High. I always looked ugly and unwanted in the clothes she made me wear."

"Oh Harry," said Ginny, her temper winding up in his defense. "You lived in a cupboard? A CUPBOARD! I had no idea your childhood was THIS bad!"

"Not very nice, until I met the Weasley family," said Harry, his eyes lighting up. "Especially one cute little redhead who put her elbow in the butter."

"You still remember that?" asked Ginny, her face and neck turning bright red, which clashed gloriously with her hair. "Well, I remember it as well. Not very bold when I was 11, was I?"

"Oh, you were plenty bold. Just not where I was concerned. And by the time you had become bolder and a beauty, I was busy trying to save the world, and you had a jealous and overprotective older brother as my best friend." Harry's tone was full of irony.

Ginny looked toward the back of the cupboard. It was bare studs, not at all finished. Way in the back she saw some papers and pencils and pens, and she got everything she could out. All of the pencils were short, and some of the paper had printing on one side and had a child's drawing on the other side. There was one elaborate drawing of a knight on a horse riding up to a castle, with what looked like a dragon head in a wagon behind him. On a tower was a redheaded girl waving.

"Didn't exactly happen like that, did it?" said Harry.

"No," said Ginny, smiling at the thought that Harry's nobility couldn't be suppressed by anything, even by this pig-headed lot. "But you got your redheaded girl anyway, even if she has ugly scars. And your redheaded girl loves her knight in shining armor."

Ginny packed up the drawings. Then she looked at Harry and said, "What do you want to do with this room?"

Harry said, "I want to put a charm on it so that no one will want to open it and just leave it. I'm not ready to remove the evidence of the way I spent so many years. The rest of the house looks good enough, but this I want to leave." After closing the door and putting charms on it, Harry and Ginny left the house and went back to Grimmauld Place. Ginny wasn't sure if she would ever be able to get the images of that house out of her head. If she ever met the Dursleys, she couldn't be held responsible for her actions. How could anyone treat another person that way, especially family? She thought that she would be furious had it been anyone, but the fact that it was Harry made her see red.

* * *

Hermione wrote to Ron almost every day while she was gone in June, and he wrote back almost every day. Finding her parents only took a week. But restoring not only their memories but also telling them about her adventures took weeks. They were all going to fly back to Britain June 24, and Hermione was going to be at the Grimmauld Place Sunday June 28. Meanwhile, Ron was at class Monday through Friday from early morning until the middle of the afternoon, then had the WWW shop in Hogsmeade open every evening and all day Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Harry had never seen Ron work and study so hard. "Not going to fail just 'cause Hermione isn't here," he would say bravely. He would straighten up tall and add, "Have to make her proud of me."

During Tuesdays and Thursdays, Harry usually had a chance to talk to Al or one or more of his family. Al's father had been involved in amazing adventures during and after the Muggle WWII, and Al could only hint at the adventures with which he had been involved. Most of the dramatic or unusual magical happenings around the world over the last 35 or so years Al not only knew about but was usually involved with in some way. He had known Albus Dumbledore for almost his entire professional career, as had his father before him. Al hinted at a lot of what was going on in the Ministry. Harry did find out that Al had wanted the D.A. people to start Auror training right away, but Robards insisted on the trainees having the classes and starting September 2nd, the traditional starting date.

Toward the end of June, Harry and Ginny asked Arthur and Molly if they could talk in the living room while the rest of the people living at the house were scattered, many in the Drawing room but some in other parts of the house. Hermione was, of course, gone, but Ron came along. Harry started by saying, "I have been talking to Bill about the estate, and although he is a little apologetic, he says that it really would be best for him and the Ministry and the estate if Ginny and I got married on Tuesday August 11."

Arthur knew of the discussions on the estate, but Molly had really put the whole subject of Ginny getting married mostly out of her head. She was frantic with decisions on the house. Molly looked at Ginny in horror. "How can we plan a wedding, on top of everything else?"

"It's going to be a very modest wedding," said Harry, hoping that he wasn't incurring Molly's wrath. "We are not going to announce or publish the date of the wedding, and we want to keep everything as small and low key as possible. I've been approached by a couple of the more prominent members of the Wizengamot and they want to be involved in our 'royal wedding.' To quote one of the members, 'Harry, you are as close to royalty as we have, and we are eager to put on a big fancy wedding for you.' They are talking about well over a thousand guests, maybe two thousand. I don't want that! It looks like there are going to be too many honors and fuss over me as it is."

"How are we going to keep it secret?" asked Molly, thinking of the sheer number of people who would have to be in on it.

"It's going to be a combination housewarming party for the New Burrow and birthday party for me, which would explain having much of the family and all of our friends there," Ginny replied. "At some point during the celebration, Minister Kingsley will get up and marry us. Ron and Hermione have agreed to stand up for us. And then I'll live here with Harry when I'm not at school."

"You are going back to Hogwarts, then?" Molly asked with relief. "Good. Where will you live? In the girls' dorm?"

Ron had a funny look on his face, and Ginny was not sure if he knew of the apartment, so she sweetly said, "I thought maybe Harry and I could share his bed in the boys' dorm." This comment produced the desired reaction of horror on Ron's face, along with guffaws from Harry, so Ginny continued. "I know you want to watch over your baby sister, and this way when you come over to visit Hermione, you can check up on us." Ron got an even more horrified look on his face, and Harry was laughing so hard that he was holding his sides. Arthur was smiling, but Molly just looked confused.

"Maybe Professor McGonagall will let you sleep in your old bed so that you could supervise us every night," Ginny continued, with a snarky smirk on her face. It hadn't seemed possible, but Ron's horror deepened. "No telling what your baby sister and her husband might be doing. Of course, we can always close the curtains. That way all you will be able to see is the bed rocking. At this point, Harry literally fell off his chair. Ron was totally flustered in a typical Ron Weasley way, and Molly had a look on her face like she knew there was more to this story, and maybe Ginny was not serious.

"You're not really going to sleep in the boys' dorm, Ginny," said Molly, although she'd started to cotton on to the joke.

"Well … I guess … there is an apartment … that McGonagall said we could use," a beaming Ginny replied. Harry couldn't understand how she'd maintained a straight face throughout the ridiculous conversation. "Ron's not going to be able to come in uninvited, though. I guess he is just going to have to trust his little sister and best friend."

"You were just trying to get a reaction out of me?" Ron asked, his ears turning a dangerous red.

"And it worked!" replied Ginny. "Ron's the one who keeps calling me his baby sister. He deserves it!"

"I know you have to get married, legally anyway, for the estate, but you're going to sleep together?" asked Ron, wondering how he could get back at his sister without getting a bat-bogey hex in the process. He got even more frustrated when he realized that that would probably prove impossible.

"We're sleeping together now," Ginny said, raising her voice. "We're just not in the same bed. I don't thinking it's sleep that's bothering you."

"You're going to? You're going to?" asked Ron.

"You'd better believe we're going to, lots!" Ginny replied.

"Tell me about the apartment," said Molly, trying to change the subject. She could always spot a sibling quarrel amongst her children from two counties away.

"It has a study with a big desk for two against one wall, a window and a fireplace that we can connect to the Floo network to go to and from Grimmauld Place," Ginny said. "That room also has some comfortable chairs. There is a bedroom with a big bed, storage for clothes and a private bathroom. There is actually another apartment there that the Longbottoms are going to be using, both connected to a passageway that goes to the Gryffindor common room and direct to an outside hallway. It's really nice!"

* * *

Harry had time to talk to the American, French and Chinese Aurors. Al Van Lente spent a lot of time with Harry. But everybody wanted to talk to the famous Harry Potter, and Harry asked questions of everybody. He wanted to find out how to build the best Auror Department in the world. There were a lot of magic/technology interface issues. Also, many of the Aurors had regular exercise programs for both physical fitness and dueling. There were so many great ideas from different places that he started to jot them down in a notebook that Hermione had charmed to be small enough to fit easily in a pocket and unfold when he took it out.

On the first of June, the foreign Aurors and the Potter Estate office moved into a three story old factory building. It was connected to the Ministry by several fireplaces, and during the day there was even a special magical passageway that you just walked through, a shortcut. There were several well-guarded places for Apparition. It was also wired for electricity and internet, with several levels of shielding so that magicians could be there without interfering with the electricity. There were also plenty of magical monitors around to help the witches and wizards keep their magic under control.

Harry was usually able to spend at least half an hour in physical fitness exercise and another half an hour in dueling on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The physical exercise was getting Harry into the best shape of his life. Of course, everybody wanted to duel Harry Potter. Between his natural abilities and the extra power of the wand, he was excellent: an extraordinarily difficult dueler to defeat, and the practice was making it harder and harder to beat him. As much as he had loved the D.A., he had mostly spent his time instructing and not enough in mock duels. He found himself enjoying the challenges. Sometimes Harry would just laugh on the rare occasions when someone got the better of him, bringing smiles to anyone who witnessed it. They were getting to see the real man behind the legend and finding that he was fun and interesting to be around.

The discussions with Al continued. Al complained that the British Auror department was basically useless. Robards was a bureaucrat who followed the rules but was terrible at solving difficult crimes. Dawlish was bonkers. He was okay at one on one duels, but impossible when it came to being a team player. He also had a tendency to go in the wrong direction, a possible side effect the number of Confundus Charms to which he'd been subjected over the last few years. The other eight members of the department were pretty good when it came to minor memory modifications or simple "follow the rule" stuff but were so traumatized by all of the changes over the last few years that their potential for growth and change was limited.

Al said, "That leaves you and the D.A., Harry. I have been talking with Minerva McGonagall, and one of your key duties as an Auror, even before you finish training, is going to be to get the D.A. up and running again with younger members."

Harry was also getting insight into his future father-in-law, and some of his strengths and weaknesses. He was loyal, good, and a very hard worker. He was a very good magician, particularly against the dark arts. Harry found that interesting, since Arthur's original position at the Ministry wasn't in that field so much, but he supposed that everyone in the Order got a pretty good foundation after a while. He was a reasonably good tactician, like a chess player but not as good as Ron. He was hopeless when it came to Muggle science, despite his eternal enthusiasm for the subject. He really needed to live in the Muggle community for a couple of years to understand it, a luxury he was not going to get because the Ministry was so shorthanded. He was also not a natural politician, knowledgeable about what was going on but not comfortable with any wheeling and dealing. Personally, Harry thought that was an asset, and guessed that this one of the reasons that Kingsley wanted Arthur on his team, aside from the fact that he was incorruptible.

Ginny was taking care of Teddy and helping her mother as the house was being built. It would have been easy to make a modern Muggle house with magical additions, with white or pastel walls, looking very sterile. The old Burrow was about as quirky and different from the sterile modern house as was possible, and Molly needed a lot of wood, a lot of decorations and a lot of character.

Harry had insisted on having a budget for buying furniture and fixtures, and Molly was fussing over how much money Harry wanted her to spend. For all of her married life, they had got by with purchasing broken objects or finding them in the muggle trash, and magically fixing them. The idea of buying a complete new or even good condition used bed or dresser or a complete set of dishes was just hard for her to comprehend. Molly talked about money and how hard it was for them to raise the seven children for the first time to Ginny, and she began to understand why buying things was so hard for her mother. "Your father never made more than 5,000 Galleons a year at the Ministry, usually much less. He is making 7,500 now, 50% more than he has ever made, plus thanks to Harry, we are not paying rent or paying for the house. I feel so rich!" said Molly. Ginny was in shock over the difference between her parents' financial status and Harry's, and she also realized hers. Harry had bought her a broom that cost 15,000 Galleons! That was three years wages for her father! Yet she knew, without having to ask, that her family's life on such a meager salary had been a thousand times better than Harry's, despite all of the Galleons in his vault.

Harry finished his potions during June. July was Charms, starting Wednesday July 1 and running through Friday July 31. The schedule was similar, with a lot of late nights. Harry was going to be taking Transfiguration with McGonagall during the school year, both of them hoping to find some time to work together amidst all of their other obligations.

The house was done July 17, but then it needed furniture and people needed to move in. Harry and Ginny had not had a chance to work on what they wanted to do with their house. In fact, although they were sleeping in the same room and usually spent a little time talking almost every morning and every night, they really had little time to themselves. The only thing that kept Ginny sane was that the wedding date was getting closer and closer. Saturday August 1, when the New Burrow was finished and furnished, Ginny and Teddy moved into a room at the Burrow. Harry stayed at Grimmauld Place. Michael and Rosemary and their children moved into rooms at the New Burrow while their house was being finished, which should be soon since they were putting off renovations on Grimmauld Place. It was more important for everyone to have a home of their own first.

Hermione finally came back in July and moved back to the apartment she shared with Ron. Ginny helped just enough to know that Hermione moved back into her own bedroom, not the one Ron was sleeping in, although she did look sort of longingly at the other bedroom.

Harry's schedule was so busy that he saw very little of Hermione. Ginny saw more of her, and they tried to have lunch or a mid-morning tea a couple of times a week.

"Minister Shacklebolt has me helping him figure out how the Ministry is organized," Hermione told Ginny one day. "I told him about organizational charts and lines of command and lines of influence, formal and informal organizations. He is asking me to figure it out.

"The problem is that I'm pretty good at writing it down but not very good at tactfully asking people and finding things out. Percy is a big help. If you are nice, most people are helpful but some are really mean or totally unhelpful. Managing people is a lot harder than getting good grades on homework, that's for sure!

"Besides it looks like some people set up the Ministry, or certain departments any way, to make them impossible to manage!"

Ginny and Hermione would talk about the politics of the Ministry from then on.


	14. Ch 14, Chocolate Frog Cards and Weddings

CH 14 Chocolate Frog cards and weddings

Sunday August 2 was the second day of weaning Teddy from Ginny's nursing and getting him on the bottle. Molly and Andromeda took turns feeding Teddy, who was old enough and strong enough that he could survive a few days of short rations while he got used to bottle feeding. Ginny was glad that she was going to be free of Teddy, but at the same time, a day with Teddy in a bedroom upstairs from Molly and not near Ginny was also very hard. How could you miss something and at the same time be glad you were missing it? Harry came over for breakfast and asked Ginny to go to Grimmauld Place with him after lunch, and she gladly agreed.

Sunday morning was noticeable for more reasons. Hermione and Ron came for breakfast, as did the entire Weasley family, including George, Angelina, Percy and his girlfriend Audrey Baker, Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and if he was not off in Romania working with dragons, Charlie.

After breakfast, George asked, "Mum, Dad, could Angelina and I use the New Burrow on Sunday afternoon, August 23?"

"I don't see why not," Molly replied. "Why do you want to use it?"

George replied, "Family tradition, Mum. You really ought to be married before you have children. We figure about March 1."

Molly could not say too much about getting pregnant before you got married, so she said, "A grandchild! How wonderful!"

There were congratulations all around. Molly seemed delighted to have another daughter-in-law and made sure everybody knew that: "Any time one of my married children wants to start giving me grandchildren, I'm ready!"

Ginny had a surprise. "I have been talking with the Chocolate Frog people, and have the first sets of Harry Potter Heroes of Hogwarts Chocolate Frogs."

She had a number of packets of just the cards to show everybody. Ron, sort of in disgust, said, "Now Harry has his own Chocolate Frog card. Harry has everything.

Ginny nonchalantly replied, "Let's just go through the cards and see who is on them."

The cards started with Harry James Potter, the Boy who Lived, victor over Lord Voldemort and one of the Heroes of the Battle of Hogwarts.

"You tell the Chocolate Frog people that the next time they print those cards to say, 'Tom Riddle who called himself Lord Voldysomething,'" Harry exclaimed.

"I'll try, and if it doesn't work, I'll have you visit them," Ginny said.

The next card was Hermione Jean Granger, the smartest witch in over a generation, one of Harry Potter's companions and one of the Heroes of the Battle of Hogwarts.

The third card was Ronald (Ron) Bilius Weasley, expert tactician and chess player, one of Harry Potter's companions and one of the Heroes of the Battle of Hogwarts.

Ron took the card in his hand like it was a huge piece of gold or a diamond or something, a precious thing. He looked at both sides a couple of times with his eyes wide open, like this was something beyond belief. There was a moment when it looked as though he might faint, but he finally shouted out, "Blimey, I can't believe it! I'm on a chocolate frog card! I'm famous! It's better than E's and O's on your NEWTS!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "Stop being silly, Ron. It's no where near as good as good grades on exams!"

Ron could not believe what Hermione had just said and replied, "Don't be mental, Hermione, of course it's better than exam grades."

Ginny half-heartedly piped in, "Stop fighting, you two. There are more cards."

Neville Longbottom, one of the leaders of Dumbledore's Army, slayer of Voldemort's snake Nagini and one of the Heroes of the Battle of Hogwarts.

Luna Lovegood, one of the leaders of Dumbledore's Army, assistant to Xenophilius Lovegood who tried to report the truth of the resistance through The Quibbler and one of the Heroes of the Battle of Hogwarts.

Ginevra (Ginny) Molly Weasley, one of the leaders of Dumbledore's Army, she still bears the scars from her heroic resistance to interrogation during the months leading up to the Battle and one of the heroes of The Battle of Hogwarts. Engaged to Harry Potter.

Ginny, with a big smile, piped in, "The Chocolate Frog people tell me that this card is going to be by far the most valuable of the set, because it is only going to be published for a short while. They say that people will be paying good money for a Ginny Weasley card. All of the cards being sold on the Hogwarts express will have Ginny Potter cards!"

There were other cards: one of The Weasley Family with a brief note on all, referring to Ron and Ginny's cards for more information. Every member of Dumbledore's Army was on a card, but most of the D.A. cards had two or sometimes four students on them. Several had lists of the dead, including a card with the Lupins on it. Some of the cards had one or more Hogwarts Professors on them.

Professor Snape had his own card, which said that he was a double agent and on Harry Potter's side. Harry was hardly involved in any of the other cards, but he had spent a fair amount of time on this one. Most of the people involved with the Chocolate Frog cards either wanted to forget about Snape or downplay the heroic nature of his struggle. Harry had just enough contact with McGonagall, others from Hogwarts, Kingsley and others from the Ministry, to realize just how much Snape had done. Harry wanted to make sure Snape was recognized and, and the Chocolate Frog card was the first step.

"Snape's got a card as a good egg?" Ron asked in horror.

"In the end he was," Harry replied.

"Looking back, Snape did the best he could," Ginny grimly said. "I can still hear him roar, 'No rapes. Scars are acceptable but no debilitating injuries!' I think he was doing the best he could. If some people came out of the experience with scars, then they would remind them of the horrible days and maybe they would not forget how they had to fight for the right. Neville and I both thought that Snape was a double agent, playing a dangerous game. Luna was sure of it!"

"Well if Luna was sure of it, why would anyone doubt it?" Ron said, obviously trying to make a joke. The stares he got from Ginny and the rest of the family shut Ron up immediately.

After breakfast, Ginny motioned Harry, George and Angelina to come outside with her; Once they were a little way from the house, Ginny said, "George, after what you did to Harry and me when we got engaged, you owe me one. How did this happen?"

"How did what happen, Ginny?" said George, trying to look innocent.

"You and Angelina having a baby," Ginny prompted.

"Well, when you sleep together-" said George looking at Angelina, who added, "-Ron and Hermione took the two rooms over the Hogsmeade store. We do not know when they started sharing a bedroom, or even if they are. They surely were not sharing a bedroom then. Well, that left four people who were going to be staying at the store in Diagon Alley, with two bedrooms. So, I told George that I was not sleeping with Charlie or Lee, so he and I were going to have to share a bedroom."

Angelina looked at George, who then added "Angelina said that she would rearrange everything and move her clothes and personal stuff from the guest bedroom into our bedroom, I mean my bedroom. When she was done, I came up to take a shower and go to bed. Angelina had done a little more rearranging than I had anticipated."

Angelina, in a somewhat exasperated tone, said, "Well there were two beds with a nightstand in between. I took my wand and made one larger bed. George gave me a funny look when he came upstairs but then went into the bathroom and took a shower, coming out with just his boxers on."

George got a big smile on his face and said, "You left the smallest pair of boxers you could find in the bathroom, nothing else. Go on, tell them the rest."

Angelina said, "Well, I found the smallest, sexiest knickers I had, went into the shower, came out wrapped in a towel with nothing on but my knickers, turned my back to George and said, 'Dry my back please.' When he had dried my back, I turned to him and we started kissing. We kissed and fondled each other for quite a while, neither wanting to stop, and finally I could not stand it any more and I took off George's boxers and my knickers and-" Angelina looked at George who said, "-she had her period about a week later, but then missed her next one and told me things were starting to happen to her body."

Angelina said, "So many things were going on we just never thought of birth control. But once I was pregnant, we both knew that we were going to get married sooner or later, and it probably ought to be sooner."

Angelina and George both looked at Ginny like that was the end of the story.

Ginny gave Angelina a big hug and said, "Welcome to the family, sister." There was no doubt that she was much more welcoming to Angelina than she had been to Fleur initially.

Harry and Ginny finally got to Grimmauld Place in the middle of the afternoon. Once they were there, Harry said, "How do you feel about remodeling this place and living here after you graduate?"

Ginny said, "I guess we could remodel this and make a nice home here."

Harry asked, "Would you like to spend our honeymoon here or just go to a hotel or something?"

Ginny thought about it. She had never been to a muggle hotel, and she was a little nervous about being in a totally muggle setting, while she was getting used to being married. And there was no chance they were going to stay at a magical hotel, not with all of the press and Harry's adoring fans out there. She said, "I think I would rather spend it here. This is a place that you own, that we can come back to and live in when we are not at Hogwarts. I do not want to have to spend all my time not at school at my parents' house."

Harry told Ginny, "After we're married, you are going to own it as well. It's not going to be my house. It's going to be our house. Is there anything we can do to fix up the master bedroom?"

The third floor was clearly meant to be the master suite. There was a connecting door between the two bedrooms and each one had a large private bathroom.

Harry and Ginny looked at the master suite, which had two full bedrooms and bathrooms. At least the room that had most recently belonged to Walburga had been cleaned out for Arthur and Molly. They decided to turn Walburga's room into a nursery for Teddy to stay in, when he was visiting. They weren't sure what they would do with the extra bathroom, but surely something would come to them.

Ginny used some of the spells she had learned while they were furnishing the New Burrow, and before long, the room they would be using was reasonably inviting. Then she said, "We just need to try the bed." Ginny got up on the bed and stretched out. Harry climbed in next to her for a delightful session of kissing and more.

"It's too warm and uncomfortable with these robes on," Ginny said playfully and pulled them off.

Harry was worried that they were getting too close to doing what they were not supposed to be doing. But the wedding was only a week and a half away, and it was no use pretending that they were not going to get intimate soon. Besides he was horny himself!

After a few more minutes Ginny pulled briefly away and took off her bra, and then went back to pushing her chest against Harry. It felt different with Ginny against him like that; very good indeed.

Ginny finally reached down to pull off Harry's boxers, and he gently said, "Ginny, please! I've promised your parents."

"I AM SO HORNY I THINK I'M GOING TO GO CRAZY BEFORE THE WEDDING, HARRY JAMES POTTER!" Ginny yelled.

"I did promise your parents," Harry said. "I know in the Muggle community you really ought to wait until you are married." Harry thought of his brief discussion with Bill. Why in Merlin's name was he waiting? Bill didn't think it was a big deal, except that disappointing Molly and Arthur was a big deal in Harry's mind.

Ginny was sitting on the bed panting, trying to control herself. Harry sort of felt the same way, but obviously Ginny was having a really hard time.

"I don't think we should be over here alone until our wedding night," Harry said, trying to put a little distance between them despite his natural inclinations. "I know that I just about lost control."

"It's one of the things I love about you, you're so blasted honorable, damn you, Harry," Ginny said. "I'm sure I'll appreciate it someday, BUT TODAY I'M OUT OF MY MIND HORNY."

As they went downstairs to take the floo back to the New Burrow, Ginny said, "Maybe Mum has some ideas on how to wait."

"Wasn't your mum pregnant with Bill when she was married?" asked Harry.

"Maybe Mum wouldn't be the best person to ask about waiting after all," Ginny grumbled, as she looked at Harry. "Oh boggarts, I'm in trouble now."

* * *

On Monday, Ginny came in from flying to find her mother and a witch she did not recognize. They were deep in some sort of discussion about Molly's clock.

"You can't have two locations on the clock called 'Home,' Molly. The magic doesn't work that way," she was saying.

"I want my children and their spouses and grandchildren to always feel this place is home," Molly retorted.

"How many do you have left at home?"

"NOBODY!" Molly exclaimed. "Well, Andromeda and Teddy are making their home with us. I suppose we should have them on the clock too."

"Plus all of your children and their spouses, and one grandchild on the way, so I would expect there would be more eventually. Molly, you need a bigger clock."

"Can you enlarge this one, so that it's bigger but still the same clock? All we have left from the old Burrow are a few things we brought to Muriel's house when we had to leave because it was too dangerous here." The woman's expression said that she thought that 'too dangerous' was a rather mild statement.

"How about MOLLY'S HOME and CHILDREN'S HOME on the clock?" the witch finally asked. "We can expand the dial, add more categories and give you enough room for a dozen grandchildren."

Ginny was fascinated by the conversation, and she sat down to listen to her mother and the clock witch. The clock was the only think even remotely resembling furniture that had been saved from the old Burrow.

Molly and the witch expanded the clock and went into the details on how spouses and children would be added. Finally the witch left.

"Mum, it sounds like YOU add people to the clock," Ginny said. "It's not automatic, like when someone gets engaged? Harry and Angelina are on the clock. Shouldn't Hermione be on the clock too?"

Molly looked at the clock, sort of flustered, and said to Ginny, "Hermione probably ought to be on the clock. It's just that Ron and Hermione are not formally engaged, and I really don't want to risk putting someone on the clock and then take them off."

"Did you put Fleur on when she and Bill got engaged? I don't remember her on the clock the first Christmas?" Ginny asked.

"I'm ashamed to say it now," Molly said, and then took a big breath, "but she wasn't on the clock that Christmas. You weren't the only female in the family who was not all that happy that Bill was engaged to that uppity French witch."

"She was on the clock when we came home that summer," Ginny said.

"When Bill's face was shredded, I was sure that Fleur would just walk away," Molly said. "I thought that if he wasn't handsome, she would not want to marry him. When she told me that the scars would just be a sign that Bill was a hero, and she would have to be pretty enough for both of them, but that she was going to marry Bill anyway, well, … well … I knew she loved Bill and not just the pretty face. I went home and cried over how bad Bill's face was shredded but also over how mean I had been to Fleur, and how I hadn't put her on the clock or knit her a jumper for Christmas. Before the night was out, she was on the clock."

"I think that you ought to put Hermione on the clock too," Ginny said. "I think the only reason Ron hasn't asked Hermione to marry him is because he doesn't have money for a ring. Well, plus he's an idiot some times, especially about girls. Besides, she's always been almost as much a member of the family as Harry."

Molly and Ginny stared at the clock silently for some time. Finally, with a smile, Molly raised her wand and said some things. Hermione was on the clock too.

* * *

Friday morning, Arthur kissed Molly and took the Floo. Harry kissed Ginny and followed. Michael kissed Rosemary, and as had become her custom, Coriander said out loud, "Stop it, Mum. He's not Dad."

When Michael left, Rosemary turned to Coriander and said, "Michael and I are going to get married tomorrow, and you are going to respect him as your father."

"He's a nice man," Cinnamon said, as though she'd been through this a thousand times already. "You're not being fair to him."

"I like your mum," Tom said to Coriander. "We're not happy we lost our mum, but we'll give your mum a chance. Give Dad a chance!"

"They shouldn't be kissing like that," Coriander said. "Next thing you know, Mum will have a baby with him. It's not right!"

"Maybe we will have a baby together," Rosemary said, wondering if a shared sibling would help matters. "You have about an hour before we do some school work. I don't want to see you for about an hour, if you can behave."

"Yes, Mum," all six children said, as they disappeared up the stairs.

"You still think Coriander is going to accept the wedding?" asked Molly.

"Cinnamon and Tom both say she will," Rosemary said. "The two oldest children seem to have agreed to share the role of watching over all of the younger children, and both of them have talked to Coriander. They think that once it's a done deal, she will accept it, just probably not very gracefully at first."

"It's almost like you and Michael were expecting something like this, it happened so quickly," Ginny said.

Rosemary shook her head, and said, "When Bill kissed me that last time, it was almost like he knew, well he did know that it could be the last time. Grace was so anxious to fight, so mad at the people who had ruined her life and especially the life of her children. We talked about who would fight and who would stay behind, and Bill said I had to stay behind. If anything happened to him and Grace, Michael and I would need to get out of Britain, take the children to someplace safe, make a life for ourselves. Even if they were just missing or captured, we'd have to go. The children needed a parent, and they needed a mother and a father figure.

"When we found out that both of them died in the battle, we knew what was expected of us. We, the family, we were good friends, but never that way. I loved Bill and Michael, loved Grace, but we never would have thought to switch or take the other's place or anything like that, but …

"We talked after the battle, and within a week had made up our minds, but somehow it wasn't real, until the funeral. And then we buried them, saw the gravesites with graves for us between our spouses, and at least for me, it became very, very real.

"That night we made love for the first time. We had never even passionately kissed, and we, well we, well it wasn't like it was the first time but it was the first time with a different partner. Michael is kind and considerate and,… but he's not Bill, and it was good and strange. We made love, and it felt sort of good. When we were done, we both cried, held each other close feeling our naked bodies next to each other and cried and cried and cried, mostly for our dead spouses but also because it felt good, sorrow and joy mingled. We just bawled for a long time.

"It's still like that, joy and tears. I am so lucky to have Michael. The wedding charms will be good, and we WILL love each other even more as the years go by. I wonder if the tears will ever end, though."

By the time Rosemary had gotten through saying all of this, she was bawling. She, Ginny and Molly all cried and hugged for some time. Maybe most of the tears were of grief, but some were of joy too. A new family was being born out of the wreckage of two good intact families that never should have ended so prematurely. Eventually, they just sat and made small talk until it was past time for Rosemary to go upstairs to work with the children and Ginny's flying partners had shown up.

* * *

Saturday, August 8 Fiona McGonagall Prewett was supposed to arrive in the morning, coming into the Ministry by Floo from North America. Patrick Prewett and Molly were at the Floo when Fiona arrived, along with Harry and Ginny. Fiona rushed up to Patrick and gave him a big hug. She then looked at Molly and said, "Hello, Molly. It's been a long time."

"I remember you from Hogwarts," said Molly. "You were dating Fabian then."

"And from fifth year on, you only had eyes for Arthur," said Fiona.

"I'm still in love with Arthur," said Molly with a twinkle in her eye.

"Patrick has told me about your wonderful family," said Fiona. "The last Christmas before your parents died your mother told your father right in front of us that it was not right that you were not with us. Something had to change and you and Arthur and as many children as you wanted to have were going to have to be welcomed into the family. Your dad said that what was done was done, but your mother said that what was done could be undone. The last I heard from Fabian, they were taking legal steps to un-un-inherit you, and Fabian was going to visit you to try to make some peace in the family. And then they died, and only a couple of months after that, Fabian and Gideon died. Oh, Molly, I am so sorry." She held her arms out, Molly opened her arms and the sisters-in-law hugged each other.

"I am sorry we did not know each other when our children were growing up," said Molly.

"Fabian did a very good job of hiding me and making sure that even if Voldemort won and all of Europe was under his sway, they could not find me or Patrick. It kept me safe but at the cost of losing touch with my entire family," said Fiona.

Molly said, "You are staying with us for as long as you want. Our house was destroyed in the war, but Harry-" pointing to her soon to be son-in-law "-has built a big new house for us, and it feels empty. So, until I have lots of grandchildren filling it up, I need some guests. Besides, if you want family, at least on Sunday mornings, we can give you plenty of family."

"Thank you, Molly. This has to be your daughter Ginny, the one who is getting married," said Fiona looking at Ginny.

"Hello, Mrs. Prewett," said Ginny somewhat shyly.

"Call me Fiona, Ginny," said Fiona. "And is this the young man we have heard so much about, the Hero of the Battle of Hogwarts and your prize catch?"

"She caught me, Fiona, yessed me right into marrying her," said Harry with a big grin.

Over the next few months, Fiona became part of the expanding family taking up residence at the New Burrow, to the delight of Molly and the rest of the family. They found out that most of the estate issues surrounding her parents' and her brothers' estates were because they had been frozen due to 'unanticipated complications' and not re-opened. But when they got into the estate, Molly did have a modest-sized bequest, although the vast majority of the estate was going to Fiona through Fabian. Molly felt sure that had her parents lived, they would have become proud grandparents to her brood of children.

The permanent or semi-permanent residents of the New Burrow included Molly and Arthur in the master suite, Andromeda in the mother-in-law suite, Teddy in a bedroom just upstairs from Molly and Fiona and Patrick Prewett in adjoining rooms. That left five bedrooms for her six remaining children and their spouses or significant others, plus grandchildren that looked liked they would start coming soon. Suddenly, the house did not look too big. Of course, three of the six remaining bedrooms were temporarily being occupied by what was to become the Appleleaf family.

Saturday afternoon, Michael and Rosemary had a small wedding, attended only by the residents of the Burrow. Harry showed up, as did Bill and Fleur, but they were the only other people there.

Michael and Rosemary stood in front of the little wizard who presided over these ceremonies. They had what looked like a script before them. Michael said, "We are gathered her to celebrate two fantastic marriages, my marriage to Grace Gryffindor."

"And my marriage to Bill Bayleaf. And we want to join our lives and our families together, because of our fantastic spouses and the great children we've had together."

"Therefore I Michael Appledorn take you Grace Bayleaf to be my wife, to love you as I loved Grace and you loved Bill, to be faithful to you until death part us."

"I Grace Bayleaf take you Michael Appledorn to be my husband, to love you as I loved Bill and you loved Grace, to be faithful to you until death part us."

"Together, we promise to love our children, all of them equally even if only one survives. Because we are joining our families, we are also joining our names, becoming the Appleleaf family."

"Rosemary, take this one ring, made out of the two engagements rings and stones, as a symbol of our marriage, and this double wedding ring, combined but not merged, symbol of the two weddings."

"Michael, take this double wedding ring, combined but not merged, symbol of the two weddings."

Molly and Arthur said some charms over Michael and Rosemary that parents usually said over their children, to bind them closer together.

The little wizard had documents for Michael and Rosemary to sign.

Then Tom read, "I am signing this document to change my name to Thomas Appleleaf, pledging to love and honor both of you as my parents, and to treat the girls as my sisters."

"I am signing this document to change my name to Cinnamon Appleleaf, pledging to love and honor both of you as my parents, and treat the boys as my brothers."

"I am signing this document to change my name to Richard Appleleaf, pledging to love and honor both of you as my parents, and treat the girls as my sisters."

Everybody looked at Coriander. No one knew what she was going to say. She looked at Michael and Rosemary, then at the other children. "I don't want to be left out," she said. "I've been sort of rotten to Mr. Appledorn."

"Appleleaf," Tom and Cinnamon gently reminded her.

Coriander glared at Tom and Cinnamon, and in an exasperated tone of voice, said, "It's BAD ENOUGH having a bossy older sister, but now I've got a bossy older brother too, and you are conspiring with each other to BOSS us." Coriander stuck out her tongue at the older children. "A younger brother isn't much worse than a younger sister, I guess. I would have liked to have a sister my age. Dick's not too bad but he's NOT a sister." She gave a big resigned sigh and paused with tears in her eyes. Finally she said, "I'll sign and become an Appleleaf."

Coriander signed the document, and then went over to Michael and said, "I'll try to call you dad, Mr. Apple … leaf. I just miss my dad." Michael crouched down and hugged Coriander, tears stinging his eyes. He would have to try to give this new daughter of his just a little extra attention, he thought.

The two littlest children printed shaky signatures the documents.

After dinner, Michael and Rosemary left to spend the night at a muggle hotel. They planned on coming back Sunday evening, a brief honeymoon of just over twenty four hours.

Before the Appleleaf children went to bed, Coriander looked at Ginny and said, "Mum talked to me about what men and women do after they get married, like he puts his, … is Mum going to let Mr. Appledorn do that to her?"

"Appleleaf now, Coriander," Ginny quietly reminded her. "I'm sure they WANT to do it."

"EEEuuuwwwau ugh gross. I guess Mum and Dad, my real dad, did it too."

"That's how they made you and your sisters." Ginny was struggling not to smile at the young girl's disgust.

"I hope they don't make another baby. The family's already twice as big with boys! I've got more brothers than sisters. IT'S AWFUL."

"I had all bothers, six of them. I thought it was nice, mostly. At least you're not the youngest and smallest. Is it really that awful? Is it really that awful, Coriander?"

"Well, no, not really. And Mr. Apple … he's really nice, except when he's being a dad, and then he's kind of like my dad making us obey, but if I say it's going to be all right, it's like I am a traitor to my dad."

"You're not. Your dad wanted your mother and you to be happy."

"I sort of know that. I just don't feel like that."

"Maybe you just need to give it some time, Coriander," said Ginny, planting a kiss on the top of the child's head. She couldn't imagine her own parents remarrying under any circumstances and thought that that must be how Coriander was feeling. "Your mum and dad are trying to do what will be best for everyone. Do you think you can try to give it a chance?"

Coriander's eyes looked watery, but she had a strong look of determination as well. "You've all been so nice to us. I'll try."

* * *

Ginny woke up Sunday morning, August 9, went in to take a shower and wash her hair and thought, 'I have been really good with the i_Touch-of-Lust_/i spell. I've only used it one or maybe two times a week and only with one flick. But Tuesday night I'll be married, and Harry and I will FINALLY make love. So today, tomorrow, and my wedding day I'll use two flicks!"

* * *

Harry met Ginny in the kitchen of the Burrow. Molly had a feast as usual. Teddy was finally taking a bottle well from either Molly or Andromeda or anyone else who wanted to feed him, and Ginny could feed him without him getting upset that he was not nursing. The plans were almost done for the birthday party/surprise wedding. Ginny and Harry were getting more and more anxious.

The whole family eventually showed up. Molly had to show everybody the clock hanging in a prominent place in the kitchen.

Hermione saw her name on the clock, and her eyes just about popped out of her head. She didn't say anything at first, but later that morning, Ginny saw Hermione and her mum in a private conversation. After they were done, Hermione and Molly hugged. Hermione went back to sit next to Ron. She held his hand and put her body next to his, sitting in a way you only sit when you are a lot more than just friends.

Before Hermione and Ron left, Hermione motioned to Ginny, and they went outside. "Your mum said you were responsible for me being on the clock," Hermione said. "I, I just, I guess I want to be part of this fantastic family, but until that idiot brother of yours asks me to marry him, well we've talked about it, and we even agree that we are going to get married. But it's not like he's proposed. I don't even need a ring or anything, just Ron saying, 'Hermione and I are engaged. We will get married. We're just working on when and how.' That would be enough. I think Ron's scared."

"That's Ron, scared to tell the girl he loves that he wants to marry her. Idiot. I told Mum that it was all over except for the formalities, and she might as well have you on the clock," Ginny said.

"Thank you, Ginny. It means a lot to me," said Hermione as she gave Ginny a big hug.

The birthday party was going to be a casual affair. Harry had a pair of very nice charcoal gray cotton pants and a casual white cotton shirt that he was going to wear, along with sandals. In photographs and in person it looked dressy while not inappropriate for a garden party. Ron had a similar outfit with a pastel blue shirt and tan slacks. Hermione had a very nice, form fitting but conservative pastel blue sun dress with spaghetti straps and a modest neckline.

Ginny had gotten a white strapless cotton sun dress that was a little dressier than was normal for a sun dress, with piping that was, if not lace at least lace-like all around the top and bottom of the dress. The same white on white piping went under her breasts, outlining her shape in a most attractive way. Ginny thought that half of the girls at Hogwarts were unhappy with their breasts, thinking they were either too small or too big. Ginny was actually rather satisfied with her shape, big enough that there was no doubt of her femininity but not too big. The neckline was quite conservative, showing just a touch of breast, although it did show the start of her scar, and the skirt came down to just above her knees.

The cotton fabric of the dress was close knit, the kind of cotton that looks almost sheer but feels comfortable, and the white was one of those whites that one remembers not as shiny but as both touchable and beautiful at the same time. The dress was form fitting as only a magical dress could be from the top of the dress until her natural waist and then flared out modestly. The skirt moved side to side as her hips moved, and Harry suspected that it had been charmed to exaggerate the sway.

Although a very attractive dress, and one that looked fantastic on Ginny, it was still obviously a sun dress and not a wedding dress.

Molly had been with the couples as they picked out their clothes, but Ginny had been altering the dress with magic, lowering the neckline to show much more bust, and raising the skirt until it came halfway up her thigh

Ginny and her mother were looking the altered dress, and Harry heard Molly and Ginny arguing. Molly was shouting, "Ginny, that dress is way too low-cut, and you are showing way more than you should. You can see more through that fabric than is proper! You need more layers on top."

Harry came into the room, and Ginny looked at Harry, who said "I think your mum is right."

Ginny looked at Harry in shock. "I want to be as sexy as possible for you. This is my wedding!"

Harry thought a little. How was he going to put this? Finally, he decided that there was no easy way to say what he wanted to say. "Ginny, your mother is right. Everything I need to see I will see Tuesday night. There is no need to be that revealing. I expect that enough people will take photographs that we really should have a much more modest dress"

Ginny's eyes got wide open, and she pouted, saying, "You don't like me dressed like this?"

Harry answered, "Not on such a public occasion. Maybe on vacation on a beach, but you're even pushing the limits there. Ginny, we are very public figures, and we are going to have to behave just a little conservatively in public."

Molly piped in, "Harry is right. There is one way to behave in public, another in private. Your father and I would not have had all you children if we did not like the physical part of marriage. We still do. But some things are best left behind closed doors."

Ginny said, "You and dad still … still …?" Ginny thought her parents still did it, but she was a little surprised to hear her mother talk freely about it.

"Have sex?" said Molly, looking surprised. "Of course! We're not that old. I hope we're never too old. There's magic in sex too. It's part of the physical world. Once you and Harry are married, enjoy each other!"

Ginny was amazed. She had seen her mother and father kissing plenty of times, and it usually embarrassed her. To have her mother tell her not to control herself and not just have sex but to enjoy sex with Harry (after they were married) was a revelation. Over the next day or so, Molly and Harry were able to reassure Ginny that just because she needed to be more conservative in public did not mean she had to be at all conservative when it was just her and Harry.

Ginny and Molly modified the dress so that it met Molly's (and Harry's) standards of modesty. They even made the skirt longer, coming to just below the knee. Harry thought the dress made Ginny look absolutely stunning. Everybody who saw Ginny in the dress would think that she was incredibly gorgeous and that Harry was one of the luckiest wizards in the world.

As they were putting the dress away Molly looked at Ginny and said "You're really getting married on your birthday!"

"Finally!" said Ginny. "I've waited for months!"

"You are the young lady who complains that you have to wait for everything," said Molly. "How many of your friends got married before starting their last year at Hogwarts?"

Ginny looked at her mother, momentarily at loss for words. Finally she said, "Hanna and Neville did, but they're a year older."

"Maybe you're a little young to be getting married, young lady," said Molly.

"I still want to, Mum," said Ginny. "Things really change once you're married, don't they?"

"Once you're married, what you do is between you and Harry," said Molly. She then went into an imitation of a typical Ginny Weasley tirade. "Nobody wants me to grow up. Wait, wait, wait. I have to wait for everything. Will I ever be allowed to grow up?" Molly paused, looked directly at Ginny, and said, "You are very much a grown up when you're married, or you should be, no matter how young you are."

Ginny started to quietly laugh, like she could hardly believe what she was saying. "I'm doing it! I'm actually marrying Harry Potter on my birthday! No one will be able to treat me as a little girl anymore." Ginny ended with a resounding, "YES!"

Molly was beginning to tear up. In a quiet voice, with just a small hint of panic in it, she said, "Do you have any idea how hard this is for me? I love Harry and I'm glad he is marrying into the family, but you haven't even finished Hogwarts. I never wanted my children to have to grow up as fast as I had to, and it's just very hard seeing you get married so young."

"I'm not pregnant, Mum," Ginny said, losing the giggles and getting serious. "I'm going to finish at Hogwarts and maybe, I hope, play for the Harpies before I have children. Except Harry and I sort of have a child already with Teddy, don't we? It's not fair to you if I leave Teddy with you and Andromeda, when I could be taking care of him. Mum, I'm sorry I always wanted to do it all. But I just can't. If you want me to finish Hogwarts, I can't take care of Teddy and be his Mum."

Ginny looked at her mother, and realized how hard it was for Molly to see her only daughter get married so young. She went over and went into one of Molly's hugs, hugging her back and finally saying, "Mum, I'm sorry if this is hard on you. Mum, how come we can't have any happy moments without a few tears?"

"I think because we're human," said Molly as the two women hugged again.


	15. Ch 15, The Wedding

Ch 15 The Wedding

Ginny Weasley walked into her bedroom at the New Burrow at around midday on Monday, August 10, 1998 and looked around. She had only been in this room for ten days. They'd furnished it with a queen-size bed for her and Harry. There really were not many of her possessions in the room, and one of the things she was going to do today was move everything she was going to need to Grimmauld Place. Unlike the old destroyed Burrow, the New Burrow had never really felt like her home. It was her parents' home. One more day, one more lonely night, and then she would never again stay here as a Weasley.

She and Harry were young. They could have lots of years ahead of them. She knew of a few witches and wizards who had celebrated their 100th wedding anniversary. Was that possible? She and Harry could be happy together for 100 years, celebrating with their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren and maybe even great-great-grandchildren. How fantastic would that be! Somehow she felt that it would not be that simple. Even the three months of their engagement had been busier, with Harry gone more than she had expected. As exciting as the notion was, it was also rather daunting. It wasn't that she could imagine loving Harry any less, but there would be difficult times in addition to the fun ones.

Ginny and Molly had a lot to do to get ready for the combined Harry and Ginny birthday party, which was going to become the wedding. And they wanted as much of it done as possible before tomorrow. The good thing was that it kept Ginny busy. If she did not have something to do, Ginny thought that she would go crazy.

Ginny had a very, very hard time getting to sleep. She kept wondering what 'it' would feel like when 'it' was put where 'it' was supposed to be put, and if 'it' was as fun as they said 'it' was.

* * *

Ginny woke up a little late on Tuesday. It had taken her a long time to get to sleep. Suddenly it hit her and she jumped out of bed as though scalded. This was the last morning in her life that she was going to wake up as Ginny Weasley. By tonight she would be Ginny Potter, no longer a virgin (thank goodness!) but a married lady. She thought back to getting Harry to put that ring on her finger. Praise Merlin it worked! She was as horny as she had ever been, wanting nothing more than to shed all of her clothes and strip Harry of his and jump him, and so she still used the _Touch-of-Lust_ spell with two flicks.

Harry Potter went to work on Tuesday as usual. It seemed really strange, but if they were going to maintain the illusion that tonight was just a birthday party for Ginny (and Harry), it was important for him to be at work. It was known to a few people that he was taking the rest of the week off, and he tried to tie up any unfinished tasks. He also had to get some documents together for the wedding and for after the wedding. With all of the estate issues, getting married was a little more legally complex than usual.

The last couple of days it had been very hard to concentrate on anything but Ginny. It was getting harder and harder. Harry could not understand how anyone could be engaged for a long time and not have sex.

By noon, he was done, and Harry went to the New Burrow. Molly was supervising getting the garden ready.

Harry was wearing a very nice pair of gray slacks, a summery knit shirt and sandals, just a little overdressed for a summer party. Ginny also wore sandals with her elegant sun dress. She had on the slightest amount of cosmetics, with her nails and toes manicured but not garishly painted.

The young couple had a light lunch, not saying much. Ginny took a good look at Harry again and thought, 'he looked tired when he arrived, and he's still tired.' "Come up to our bedroom, tired man," Ginny said. Harry did not say anything but just got up and let Ginny lead him up to her, well, now it would be their bedroom. As excited as he was, when his head hit the pillow, he was asleep. 'They're working him too hard,' thought Ginny.

Guests started to arrive at about 2:30 PM, mostly family at first. Ginny went up to wake Harry. She pulled off the covers. He was in bed with nothing on but his boxers. The _Touch-of-Lust_ Spell was driving her crazy, and she could not stand it. Ginny locked the door. She took off the sun dress and her knickers and pulled off Harry's boxers. Harry woke up and looked at Ginny standing there naked before him. He got up and grabbed on to her. Then they heard Molly yell, "Harry, Ginny, Neville and Hanna are here."

Harry let go and backed off, took a good look at Ginny and said, "Tonight!" Harry was shaking. He really wanted to have sex with Ginny right then, but he also felt that this was not the time or place for their first time. He wanted to be able to take their time, figure things out without a house full of people, most of whom were related to Ginny. He started to put his clothes on.

The brief nap seemed to have revived Harry. Well, maybe it was seeing Ginny naked, even if for a brief moment, that had done the trick. Whatever the reason, Harry was wide awake. He and Ginny were both having a hard time concentrating, but Molly was calling, and they had to go.

Neville and Hanna Longbottom knew of the plans for the evening, and they wanted to spend a little time with Harry and Ginny before the wedding.

"I'm not sure if we are going to be at school with you," said Hanna. "Neville really wants to be an Auror, at least for a few years. He knows the Ministry needs him. I know he will eventually end up back at Hogwarts, when he feels the Aurors no longer need him. I'm not sure if I am going back."

"It would be nice having you next to us," said Ginny coaxingly. "Will you be living in Ottery St. Catchpole in the family house?"

Hanna answered, "With Neville's grandmother. At least the house is big enough that we will be in our own area. I intend to try to visit your mother once I have the baby."

Ginny said, "Don't wait until the baby is born. Besides, Harry and I are going to try to get back here most weekends." The friends promised to stay in touch.

Hogwarts staff started to arrive at about 4:00 PM, as did some of the school friends. Harry and Bill had arranged an orchestra connected with the Rothchild Estate to be at the New Burrow from about 4:00 PM until 10:00 PM to play for the crowd, and they started to play familiar classical melodies. The day was warm, sunny and beautiful. By 5:00 PM, the party was in full swing. Harry led Ginny up to the stage, and as they looked out over the people, he said, "Ginny, this looks to me like a Happily Ever After day. I am standing here next to the most beautiful and wonderful woman in the world, and by tonight, you will be my wife."

Ginny just gushed, the biggest possible smile on her face. "Oh, Harry, so far it's been like a dream. Not exactly the dream I had as a child, but since my father was never a king, and we never lived in a castle, maybe that dream was never very realistic. I love you." The lovers gently kissed and held it for a very long time. When they stopped, they noticed that everyone was looking at them and applauding. They also noticed that Cindy Base and a photographer from the Daily Prophet plus Luna and her father were there, so both publications would have that kiss or another one in the paper.

People started to arrive in earnest at 5:00 P.M. Harry and Ginny tried to introduce each other to the people they didn't already know, Harry introducing Ministry people and Ginny trying to introduce Harry to the huge number of aunts, uncles and cousins she had.

Molly was busy and Andromeda Tonks looked like all the guests were terrifying her, so shortly after 5:00 PM, just after he woke up from a nap, Ginny picked up Teddy and he was introduced to people as they made their rounds.

Harry eventually spotted Dudley Dursley waving at him. Well, he was hard not to spot because he was so tall. Although not exactly thin, Dudley was a lot thinner, and as far as Harry could see, both healthier and happier than he had been the last times Harry had seen him. Aunt Petunia was with him, maybe a little older and thinner but otherwise unchanged.

"Hello, Harry," Dudley exclaimed. Aunt Petunia just glared at Harry and Ginny.

"Dudley, Aunt Petunia, I want you to meet my fiancée, Ginny," Harry said. "She's holding my godson Teddy. Teddy's parents were killed at the Battle of Hogwarts."

"WOW, Harry, she's cute," Dudley said to Harry, and turning to Ginny said, "Pleased to meet you. Cute baby." Aunt Petunia sort of nodded.

"You're getting married tonight?" Dudley whispered.

Both Harry and Ginny nodded yes, Ginny very vigorously.

"You really killed that Voldy guy?" Dudley asked. "May 2nd was just unreal. We woke up to, well, everyone was scared to death, and then someone said, 'Harry won.' It was like they could not believe it. Then someone else appeared really quickly, like you people do and said, like, wand-to-wand you dueled and you won."

Harry laughed at the much abbreviated story and said, "There was a lot more to it, and I had a lot of help, but yeah, in the end, he and I dueled."

Ginny piped up with, "Of course he did! Harry killed the worst dark wizard ever and saved the Wizarding community!"

"A lot of people helped. Ginny is my hero, Dudley," he said. "See this scar? She got it and another one fighting for us at Hogwarts, the school, while I was busy doing other things. I am so proud of her, and I think that scar is the most beautiful token of love and bravery I could imagine."

Aunt Petunia was looking skeptically at Harry while all of this was going on, but she did not say anything. Ginny was fully prepared to bat bogy hex both of them, but Dudley was obviously in such a good mood and in awe of Harry that she refrained. Dudley being vocal about how cute Ginny was didn't hurt either. Ginny and Aunt Petunia continued to eye each other warily, however.

"They did something to almost everybody to make them forget everything," Dudley said. "They did not do anything to me. I'm really grateful to you for that. The wizards said the only reason they were not doing it to Mum and me was because you asked. Thank you again." Dudley shook Harry's hand at the second thank you and then looked at his mum.

Petunia looked at Dudley and then back at Harry. "I don't remember Lily's wedding or funeral. I don't remember if I was at either of them," Petunia said, fussing with her bag, unable to look at Harry. "I guess I'm glad this last year was not stolen from me too."

"You are welcome," Harry said, wondering if the loss of so much to do with her sister had to do with how Petunia had perceived the situation. "Do you want to see if we can get any of those memories back for you?"

"No, Harry," Aunt Petunia said, reverting to form. "The less magic that touches me the better."

"That was nice of you to offer," Dudley said with a thoughtful look. "I got to see magic performed, and we tried to get stuff to eat. We had a little cash, actually had a little come in every week, but not enough to feed everybody. We had to find plants and even animals that they turned into other things. It was amazing to watch. Sometimes they had to do a lot of changing before they got anything they wanted to eat. And nothing went to waste. Wizards must reuse everything. I never saw anything thrown away."

"I've never seen a trash pile outside a wizard house," said Harry, suddenly wondering about that. Sometimes there were piles of things waiting to be used or changed into something else but never just thrown out. Changing the subject, Harry asked, "What are you doing these days, Dudders?"

"Well, I'm in pretty good shape after this year, what with all of the exercise and short rations and all," Dudley said, patting his considerably smaller stomach. "I had to exercise when we were out gathering stuff, and I've been going to the gym to stay in shape since then. I finished school, through correspondence, while in hiding. It was a really good experience, even the hard parts of it. I've started at university, studying mechanical engineering.

"See, Dad is partners with a couple of uncles, maybe great-uncles, in the drill company. There will be a full time job for me there, if I can get good grades. Meanwhile, I'm working part time in the factory learning as much as I can. They make a lot of really unusual drills, Harry. I would love to show you."

"We'll have to talk later, Dudley," Harry said. "They've been keeping me awfully busy, and tonight there are a lot of other people we need to see."

"Keep in touch, Harry," Dudley closed with a smile.

"I didn't expect your large cousin to be so friendly," Ginny said, remembering all of the things she'd heard over the years.

"It looks like the year in hiding did Dudley a lot of good," Harry observed. "He looks healthier and happier than I think I've ever seen him."

Fleur saw how busy Harry and Ginny were and offered to take Teddy. "I wonder when Bill and Fleur will have children?" Harry asked, looking at Fleur playing with Teddy.

"I know they are thinking about it," Ginny said, as she watched Teddy spit up on Fleur's elegant dress. Fleur smiled sweetly at Teddy and took out her wand and casually conjured a drool bib and cleaned her dress. He started to fuss and Fleur went inside to get a bottle for him and expertly fed and burped him. It looked like Teddy's head was on a swivel, he was so busy looking around, and he was being a very messy eater. Fleur took it all in stride, somehow staying clean and keeping Teddy reasonably neat as well, all the while entertaining Teddy and talking to other people.

"How can anyone hold a baby and be elegant at the same time?" Ginny eventually asked, remembering the deplorable state of her robes at the end of most days when she was Teddy's primary caregiver. Harry just grinned. He didn't have any answer to that question, but he suspected it had something to do with Veela magic.

Harry saw Kingsley Shacklebolt wave him over. Harry and Ginny went over and Harry recognized Gawain Robards, the head of the Auror Department. Harry had never formally met Gawain. Kingsley said, "Gawain, I want you to meet Harry Potter and his fiancé Ginny. Harry, Ginny, Gawain Robards, the head of the Aurors."

Harry and Gawain shook hands, neither of them saying anything. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife. Arthur Weasley came over and said, "Glad you could make it, Gawain. Where's your wife?

"She is busy at home with some things we just couldn't get out of. Things are still in some disarray because of the war," Gawain answered. He looked around. "Really fancy place you have now, befitting the Head of Magical Law Enforcement."

"The old Burrow was destroyed," Arthur said. "Cursed down to the ground. The builders said we needed a large house to cover all the curses, and Harry made it possible for us to build this beautiful big house."

Gawain flushed at the reminder of what had happened to the Weasley family.

"Just how many things going on in the Wizarding Community are you responsible for?" Gawain asked Harry, realizing that this wasn't the only residence that had been recently rebuilt or repaired. "From the way people talk, you have your hand in everything good that is going on."

"I'm sure they exaggerate," Harry said quickly. "I know how many people helped me and helped other people. There were a lot of heroes during this war."

Gawain nodded but continued to look warily at Harry.

Bill Weasley came over to say hello.

"Still finding more money?" Kingsley asked.

"Harry is a genius at handling the goblins," Bill said as Harry and Gawain listened. "He doesn't do much, but whenever we are in a sticky situation, he makes sure that the goblins are treated fairly. And whenever we bend over backwards to be fair to them, they seem to find more money. The goblins respect me, but I think they may actually like Harry."

They all laughed at that. The goblins rarely liked anyone who wasn't a goblin.

Gawain looked at Harry again, then at Minister Shacklebolt, Arthur and Bill Weasley and back at Harry. He was going to be Harry's boss? Somehow Gawain Robards thought it was not going to be that simple.

At about 7:00 PM, Minister Shacklebolt got up and asked for quiet.

Kingsley said, "As all of you know, Harry and Ginny are engaged and no wedding date has publicly been announced. Many of you probably guessed that we were going to hold the wedding today, because of security issues and also because if we had a public announcement, the wedding could grow too big to secure.

"Harry, Ginny, please come here with your witnesses."

Ginny, Harry, Ron and Hermione went up to the stage.

"Are you here freely?" Kingsley asked of the betrothed couple.

"Yes we are," Harry and Ginny said in unison.

Kingsley asked, "Is it your desire to magically bond your souls to each other in love and fidelity until death?"

"Yes."

"Do you have wedding vows, and have they been approved by the Ministry?"

Again together Harry and Ginny said, "Yes we have our vows."

Harry then started, "I, Harry James Potter, take you Ginevra Molly Weasley to be my wife, in good times and in bad times, in health but also in sickness, with all of the scars you have or may get in the future, in happy times and in sad times, all the days of our lives."

"I, Ginevra Molly Weasley, take you Harry James Potter to be my husband, in good times and in bad times, in health but also in sickness, with all of the scars you have or may get in the future, in happy times and in sad times, all the days of our lives."

The mention of scars pointed out the very visible scar above Ginny's breast, as well as Harry's famous scar, and it was mentioned in all of the newspaper articles about the wedding.

The Minister then asked, "Do you have your rings? All four rings must be put on Harry's wand and Ginny will say the wedding charm over the rings. Then the rings must be put on Ginny's wand and Harry will say the wedding charm."

Ginny then said, "These rings are a symbol of the unbreakable bond Harry and I are forming. May they always remind us of our bond," as she touched the rings on Harry wand with her wand. They transferred the rings and Harry said the same spell. All of the stones on the rings shone. Harry put the wedding ring and the engagement ring on Ginny's finger, and Ginny put Harry's rings on his finger.

The Minister then said, "I now pronounce you bonded for life," as he waved his wand over their heads. Silver stars came out of the wand and surrounded the couple, who were holding each other, and everyone who saw them felt the bonding. The two were now one, in some magical way.

Then Arthur and Molly were called up to give the parents' spells. They seemed to know a number of spells to more tightly bond the couple together, some of them said while both couples held both of their wands. Harry and Ginny could feel the magic as her parents said the words, and all of the assembled crowd could see power move from the one couple to the other.

Harry and Ginny lightly kissed, and the Minister announced, "I hereby introduce you to the new Mr. and Mrs. Harry James Potter."

Then the Minister of Magic brought Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione to a table to sign the formal marriage contract. It was opened to the place where Ron and Hermione were supposed to sign the contract, and they signed. Then he turned the document to the place where Harry and Ginny were supposed to sign. The document had been signed several places on May 8th, but there were two more places where they had to sign.

"Made an honest woman out of you now!" Kingsley exclaimed with a wink at Ginny.

Ginny looked at Kingsley. "What is that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"Oh, that's just something you say when a couple has been living together before they were married. After all, you and Harry were betrothed and sharing a bed and bedroom," Kingsley said casually.

"I didn't have to wait to have sex?" Ginny asked, suddenly realizing what Kingsley was implying and beginning to get agitated.

Kingsley Shacklebolt realized that he had made the wrong assumptions and said the wrong things. He shut his mouth with a snap.

"I didn't HAVE to WAIT to have SEX?" an extremely horny Ginny said, beginning to really get agitated.

"Not everybody waits," said Kingsley, sort of under his breath.

"MOTHER!" Ginny yelled, looking at her mother. Molly looked down. Ginny looked at her brother Bill and the documents in her hands, as Bill rushed up to try to calm down his sister, Fleur, still holding Teddy, who was sleeping on her shoulder, following quickly behind.

"EVERYBODY THINKS WE'VE BEEN HAVING SEX BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN BETHROTHED AND SLEEPING IN THE SAME BEDROOM. AND HARRY AND I'VE BEEN WAITING AND WAITING AND WAITING AND WAITING!" Ginny yelled at her brother, loud enough for all the people at the wedding to hear. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HORNY I'VE BEEN?"

"Oh, you've been making that pretty clear," Bill said, the corners of his mouth twitching terribly with unreleased laughter. He managed to take a deep breath and quietly said, "Calm down."

"CALM DOWN? ALL OF THIS WAITING, AND I'VE BEEN BETHROTHED AND DIDN'T NEED TO WAIT! HOW COULD YOU?" Ginny yelled.

"Do you think Mum would have signed the papers if she thought you knew you didn't have to wait?" Bill asked. "You're finally married now. You don't have to wait any more!"

Ginny looked out at the wedding guests. Almost everybody at the wedding was either laughing or trying hard not to laugh. Even her mother, although she was obviously embarrassed, was suppressing a laugh.

Bill and Fleur stood looking at Ginny, trying to be patient. Ron and Hermione were obviously embarrassed.

"I'm terribly horny too, but I still think we should wait until tonight," Harry said, his face turning as red as Ginny's hair. As eager as she was, he wasn't quite sure what she was thinking. "The waiting will be all over tonight. Do you think you can wait for a couple more hours so that we can greet all of the wedding guests again, have a dance?"

Ginny spent a minute or so trying to control her emotions. "I probably should have been a little more discrete," Ginny said as she looked over the crowd again.

"Maybe a little," Harry replied, laughing at his high-spirited bride.

They hugged hard, Ginny whispering, "I can't wait. I can't wait. I can't wait." Maybe she HAD used the _Touch-of-Lust_ spell a little TOO much.

Harry and Ginny left the stage area hand in hand. Waiting to greet them were Arthur and Molly.

Harry and Arthur hugged, Arthur grinning and saying, "I don't think you are going to have a reluctant bride tonight, Harry. Good luck! Enjoy!"

"I've been horny and having a very hard time concentrating too, but …" Harry said looking at Ginny with a wry grin.

Molly took Ginny into her patented hug.

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed everybody," Ginny said.

Molly looked at Ginny. "You've been using the _Touch-of-Lust_ Spell. How often?"

"Just once a week, until Sunday," Ginny replied.

"And then?" Molly asked.

"Yesterday and today," Ginny replied, grinning at her mother.

"How many flicks of the wand?" Molly asked.

"Just one, until last Sunday, but two for the last three days," Ginny said, her grin even bigger.

"I can't believe you didn't attack Harry in your bedroom, using the _Touch-of-Lust_ Spell that much," Molly admonished, her eyes closing briefly as though in silent prayer. "You both must be going out of your minds."

Ginny remembered the scene in the bedroom just before her mother called her down to see Neville and Hanna. "I did," she whispered. "But Harry said we didn't have time."

"Oh dear!" Molly exclaimed as Harry went over to hug her. Molly whispered to Harry "As eager as she is, I don't think Ginny knows much. Be gentle with her."

"I don't know anything either," Harry admitted. "I'm a little worried that I won't know what to do."

"Oh dear," Molly said again. "I had a book that I was going to give you, but I didn't get it in time. My copies were destroyed when the Burrow was destroyed." Molly looked at Harry with compassion and concern. "You and Ginny will figure it out. Just be patient with each other."

"All right," Harry answered. He left a little uneasy. If Molly, Mum Weasley, was a little concerned about his and her daughter's first time, Harry was beginning to get terrified.

Professor McGonagall approached Harry and Ginny with a twinkle in her eye. "I have it on good authority, Harry, that a shy bride usually is a lot less shy once you are alone on your wedding night," she said with a grin that indicated she thought Harry was in for a pretty wild night.

"Ginny's pretty quiet, but I think we'll manage," Harry laughed.

Ginny saw Minerva sigh, with a kind of faraway look in her eye, and asked, "Did anyone every ask you to marry him, Professor?"

McGonagall gave a huge gasp, and grabbed Ginny's hand.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ginny asked, suddenly aware that she had asked a deeply personal question. "If it's too private, we'll just go."

"No, that's all right. It's not a question I often get from my students," Minerva said, sitting down and indicating to Harry and Ginny that they should sit down too. "The war against Grindelvald was terrible. I think that half of my graduating class at Hogwarts was killed or injured in the war. Harry, yes, he was a Harry too, he and I somehow survived. From 1939 until the end of 1943, we talked about getting married after the war. We never lived together as a couple, just talked, dated, went on missions together. The Christmas of 1939 both of our parents came to visit, and Harry said, 'The family is here. Why wait?' So, on Boxing Day, we got married.

"Two days later we went on our first mission together as a married couple.

"Six weeks later, while we were on a mission together, I saw him get killed. We were with a group and there was no way to retrieve the body without endangering other people. We never found his body.

"Two weeks later I came back from a dangerous mission sick, went into the infirmary, and had a miscarriage. I hadn't even known that I was pregnant." McGonagall had tears in her eyes at this point. She pulled herself together, saying, "I never took his last name, and few people know I was married. But I would not trade those six weeks for anything. It's just that weddings are a little hard on me sometimes."

Minerva McGonagall ended by giving Harry and Ginny big hugs. She looked at them with a tremulous smile and said, "That doesn't mean that I'm not extremely happy for the two of you. After everything that's happened, it's very gratifying to see such a wonderful event come out of this war."

"There is more to Professor McGonagall than we thought," said Harry, after they had taken their leave of her. Ginny just held on to Harry tightly for a moment and nodded, feeling her teacher's pain keenly. If it hadn't been for Voldemort taking Harry's blood, Ginny would have been left in a similar situation but without the brief marriage with which to consol herself.

Hagrid came over and gave Harry and Ginny a big joint hug, effectively crushing them. He looked over to where McGonagall was talking to some other people and sat down next to Harry and Ginny.

"We just heard about Professor McGonagall's marriage," Ginny said.

"Not many people know," Hagrid said, looking impressed. "She's got a big heart, that 'un. Keeps too much inside. Hard ter get her ter have fun. Hogwarts is her life, nuttin' outside o' Hogwarts."

He waved his enormous hand around at the party and went on, "This reminds me so much o' your mum and dad, Harry. O' course they were married in a church, that little church in Godric's Hallow. I had ta be invisible, in back of the church, cause they was Muggles n all there. Righ' pretty wedding. They were so happy.

"James, it was like he won every prize there ever was, winning Lily like that." He smiled as though it had been just yesterday.

"Can't say I cared much for tha' sister o' Lily's. Even then she was a bad un." Hagrid's tone changed to one of contempt and he nodded to where Petunia was turning up her nose at the proceedings. "Hasn' changed much. Your cousin sure has. He 'n I talked. He LIKES magic now 'n magical people."

Hagrid patted his two young friends, practically knocking their heads together, and went over to talk to Professor McGonagall. They could see him hug her and nod as the two of them talked. It was surprising to see the comfortable friendship that the two enjoyed.

Harry was later pulled in one direction by Seamus Finnigan, Anthony Goldstein, and Ernie Macmillan, who wanted to congratulate him but also ask something about Auror training.

All of the prospective Aurors thought that Harry would know just what Auror Training was going to be like and even talked like maybe Harry was going to be running it. Harry had to tell them that he had to go through the training too.

Harry beckoned to Kingsley Shacklebolt, who came over. Harry reintroduced his classmates and said, "They are all going to be in Auror Training with me. They have asked me a lot of questions I don't have answers for."

"I don't either," Kingsley said. "Gawain Robards is handling he training. He is having a few issues with it. But we've trained people for a lot of years and he has material from the old training sessions. All of you, Harry included, are just going to have to wait until September 2nd."

Harry thought that he had convinced his classmates that he was unimportant. What had happened in their eyes was that Harry had demonstrated that he knew the Minister of Magic personally, just making Harry seem even more important.

At the end of the little meeting, Seamus looked at Ginny, who was talking to Luna. He said, "Merlin is she eager, Harry. Are you sure you are going to be able to handle her tonight?"

"I don't think I have much of a choice," Harry said, feeling more nervous with every passing minute, not to mention with all of the innuendos being thrown about.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Seamus replied, just reinforcing Harry's doubts even further.

"Good luck," the other boys said as they parted, all of them either winking or wiggling their eyebrows at him. Harry was beginning to feel like he was going to need some good luck.

Ginny was approached by Luna, who asked, "You did always like boys, but what did you do to make you so very eager to have sex? It's like you are almost out of control."

Ginny looked at Luna and thought that the only way to satisfy her unlimited and persistent curiosity was honesty. She replied, "Maybe I used a _Touch-of-Lust_ spell a little too much."

"I think you used it a LOT too much," Luna replied seriously, although her eyes were bright with merriment. "Did you and Harry learn what you are supposed to do tonight?"

"Not exactly," Ginny admitted. "It's not like anybody shows you."

"Why not?" Luna asked. "It seems to me that with something that important, someone would give you a demonstration or at least good instructions."

"It's pretty private," Ginny said, starting to regret getting into such a candid conversation with Luna, who had no difficulty speaking her mind. "I surely can't see anyone giving you a demonstration."

"That could be a problem," Luna pondered. "Especially considering how eager you are. I hope Harry knows something."

"I hope so too," Ginny said fervently. "Although it's bloody unfair that they tell the boys all about it but don't tell the girls."

"I guess I will meet a boy I want to do it with someday," Luna said. "From what I know, it is supposed to be enjoyable. I guess that by the time I do meet someone, you will know how to do it. Maybe you can tell me and Harry can tell the boy."

"I can't exactly see us giving you a demonstration!" Ginny replied, grinning.

"That's a shame," Luna said. "I'm sure it would be very interesting."

"Somehow, I get the idea that if we had not been so blasted busy, we would have been given a little more instruction," Ginny said. "I just feel so eager and unprepared at the same time."

"People have been doing it for thousands of years, so it cannot be that difficult," Luna said. "I'm sure I can find out about it in books, but you probably learn more about it by doing it."

"I'm almost positive it's also a lot more fun to do it than to read about it," Ginny replied, giggling.

"You are probably right," Luna seriously replied.

By this time, Harry was back. Luna touched Harry's arm, and with concern on her face and in her voice, she said, "I hope you got some GOOD instructions on what to do tonight, Harry. Ginny's not so sure."

Harry looked at the two girls. How difficult could it be? "I think we'll figure it out," he said.

Ginny saw Aunt Muriel and her mother, and said, "We're in trouble now, Harry."

"What did WE do?" Harry asked, suddenly feeling apprehensive.

"Auntie Muriel," Ginny said, pulling him away from where Harry could see Auntie Muriel and Molly in some sort of intense discussion.

"What did WE do to get Auntie Muriel so agitated?" Harry asked.

"I am NOT putting that stupid tiara on," Ginny said. "It doesn't go with a sun dress. It's not my style. We're already married."

"Then don't," said Harry.

"You don't know Auntie Muriel," Ginny exclaimed, obviously worried. At about this time, Muriel left Molly and made a beeline towards Ginny, holding the tiara in her hand.

"GINEVRA MOLLY!" Muriel yelled, when she was about thirty feet away from the couple, causing everyone to pause and look in their direction. Ginny tried to smile at Harry as Muriel came thundering down at them.

"EVERY PREWITT FOR OVER A HUNDRED YEARS HAS BEEN MARRIED WEARING MY GOBLIN MADE TIARA!" Muriel yelled.

Ginny stood there, looking at the tiara. Muriel put the tiara on Ginny and said some sort of a spell. "Not much of a wedding dress," she sneered, looking at the sun dress with distain. "He may be a war hero, but he's a skinny little thing. I don't think he'll grow much taller, but maybe you can fatten him up a little."

"TAKE THIS OFF!" Ginny yelled. "I thank you for thinking of me, but we really didn't need it and it doesn't fit."

"It fits fine, and you WILL wear it until tonight!" Muriel exclaimed.

Ginny and Aunt Muriel stared at each other for over a minute, the two wills almost visible as each struggled to dominate. When it came to the tiara, however, Ginny had met her match. Finally, Ginny gave a big sigh, and it was obvious that Muriel had won.

"Yes, Auntie Muriel," Ginny said, resigned to her fate. She was pretty sure that the tiara had been charmed to stay on until they were at Grimmauld Place.

Muriel stomped about ten feet away, took a good look at Ginny, shook her head to indicate that she was still not satisfied and left to harangue Molly some more.

"WE really were in trouble," said Harry laughing.

Ginny glared at Harry. "You don't have to wear this STUPID tiara. Boggarts!"

Ginny saw that Muriel was now talking to Angelina, and Angelina was giving Ginny a wary eye.

"I'm a little surprised you're wearing the tiara now," a grinning Hermione said to Ginny as she walked over to her.

"YOU'RE surprised!" Ginny said. "I surely didn't plan it." Ginny sort of felt her head. As she suspected, the tiara was charmed firmly on.

By this time, Fleur had wandered over as well, still carrying Teddy who had awakened and who was grabbing at everything.

"What if you don't want to wear it?" Hermione asked.

"Don't marry Weasley," Fleur said. "Offer of tiara not offer, is command! Unbreakable tradition!"

"Did you WANT to wear the Tiara?" Ginny asked Fleur as Teddy grabbed for the tiara.

"I WANTED to be part of Weasley family," Fleur said, elegantly holding a squirming Teddy as she talked. "Tiara was little thing. No way uppity French girl going to break tradition. I walk on eggs trying to be Weasley."

"I'm sorry if we didn't accept you at first," Ginny said. "Bill was the first one married, and …"

"Bill brings home fancy French Veela girl, not from 'Ogwarts, not comfortable, not familiar," Fleur said.

"It was like you didn't know how to act around us," Ginny said.

"I didn't," Fleur admitted. "Scared, worried. 'Arry fit in. 'Ermione fit in. Tried to figure out 'Ermione and where she fit. Fleur not fit in at all. Was 'ard at first."

"Well you fit in now," Ginny said, giving Fleur (and Teddy) a big hug. "I can't imagine Bill married to anyone else." Ginny looked at her sun dress. Teddy had pulled at it and managed to drool over it as well.

"Sank you Geeny," Fleur said as she took out her wand and cleaned Ginny's dress. "I feel more Weasley every day."

Ginny looked at Fleur. She didn't look any less the exotic beautiful Veela, even while holding a squirming baby, but Ginny was just getting used to it. It WAS hard to imagine Bill married to anyone else.

By this time, Angelina had come over to the group, with George trailing behind. Angelina looked at the tiara and said, "Auntie Muriel said that I could wear the tiara at our wedding."

"Is not offer, is command," Fleur repeated with a smile directed at Ginny, who returned it ruefully.

"That's sort of what I thought," Angelina said.

"What could happen if Angelina didn't wear it?" George asked. "How much trouble could you be in?"

Fleur turned to George and said, "Trust me, you don't want to find out!"

By this time, Bill had joined the group too. He looked at George and said, "Trust us, you REALLY don't want to try and find out what happens when you cross Auntie Muriel."

"That bad?" George asked, astonished. Everyone nodded yes. His hand reached out to tweak Ginny's nose. "So that's where you and Mum get it from?"

She glared at him so quickly and fiercely that he mumbled a quick apology.

Ginny turned to talk to Fleur and Hermione, leaving Harry facing George and Angelina.

"It looks like you're going to have a wild woman on your hands tonight, Harry," said George with a grin. "Are you sure you're prepared to handle my horny little sister?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. More and more blokes were reinforcing the notion that maybe he didn't really know quite what he was going to do.

"How hard can it be?" asked Harry.

"Maybe somebody should have given you better instructions, like your experienced older brother-in-law George," George said with a conspiratorial look on his face. "Although you do have part of it right. It should be hard."

Harry tried to smile, but it looked more like he had a toothache. He sensed that George had used a double entendre, but he was too nervous to laugh.

Angelina popped in with, "Like you were all that good your first time. For all your big talk and swagger, you were scared to do it. You didn't know anything either."

"I got the deed done," George retorted.

"I wasn't a virgin, but it wasn't the most pleasant. Oh, we were horny enough. It was alright, but praise Merlin you've gotten a lot better, George," Angelina said.

"I didn't think I was that bad the first time," George said quietly to Angelina, looking genuinely hurt.

"You didn't know what you were doing," Angelina said. "Of course, I didn't either. It wasn't awkward?"

George looked at her in surprise. "After the stunt you pulled? I didn't expect… I was so busy with other things that serious snogging wasn't even on my mind. Then to be in a single bed with nothing on but those little… and then you had nothing on your top. Well you do have something on your top; that's sort of the point, but there wasn't anything covering it. And then, by the time we got to it, of course it was bloody awkward."

At this point, somebody interrupted, trying to talk to George, leaving Harry even more concerned that he would not know exactly what to do.

Meanwhile, Ginny asked Fleur, "When can you take this thing off?"

"After," Fleur said evasively.

"After what?" Ginny asked.

"After bed and … after," Fleur tried to clarify without getting too specific, blushing.

A horrified Ginny said, "I have to go to bed with this thing on, and it won't come off until Harry and I…? Oh no, Fleur!"

Hermione looked at Ron, then at the tiara.

"No bloody way," Ron said.

"I, well, what are we talking about Ronald?" Hermione asked.

"The thing on Ginny's head, that's all," Ron awkwardly replied. "I think," he whispered, looking at Hermione again.

Harry rejoined the conversation. Ginny turned to Harry and said, "This thing won't come off until after, after, well after."

"I didn't gather you wanted to wait," Harry said, assuming he knew what Ginny was talking about.

"I can't imagine ANYONE wanting to wait," Ginny said.

Bill laughed. "We have a second cousin who agreed to marry a girl because she needed to be married to get some inheritance. They were going to live in the same house but different rooms, split the money, and then get an annulment in a couple of years because they hadn't consummated the marriage. Of course she wore Auntie Muriel's tiara, and of course the next day it didn't come off."

"What happened then?" asked Ginny.

"The tiara came off two nights later," Bill said. "I understand that the bride and groom had some heated discussions with Auntie Muriel, and she gave back as good as she got. So the bride and groom finally, well, we know they must have done it because the tiara came off.

"Of course, nine months later they had a baby. They never anticipated needing birth control. They're still married with three children. It's not the worst marriage either although hardly the best."

Everybody laughed at Bill's family gossip, although Angelina and Hermione kept looking warily at the tiara.

The dancing started about an hour after the wedding, and of course Harry and Ginny had to have the first dance. They were not very good, not having practiced much, but they did start the dancing. Other couples joined in, and Harry and Ginny danced with Molly and Arthur respectively, and then Harry danced with Hermione and Ginny danced with Ron. The next dance they were back together.

"Look at the Appleleaf family," Ginny said, pointing out the family group. Tom and Cinnamon were dancing with each other, or at least trying. At the same time, they were keeping an eye on the two youngest children.

Rosemary was dancing with Dick, and Michael was dancing with or talking to Coriander. Coriander was looking at Harry and Ginny, and when the dance was over they came over to talk to them.

"Mrs. Potter, may I ask you a question?" Coriander said.

Ginny did a quick double take; this was the first time someone had called her Mrs. Potter. It somehow sounded old, certainly a lot older than she felt at the moment. She promptly replied, "Please, ask anything."

"Your father didn't walk you down the aisle. In most weddings I have seen pictures of or read about there is a big procession and the father walks the BEAUTIFUL bride down the aisle. How come?"

"Well, we didn't exactly have an aisle."

"But you have a FATHER, and he was HERE!"

"Well, I guess in the planning we just forgot."

"But didn't you want a BIG wedding with bridesmaids and gowns and everything, a Fairy Tale Ending wedding? This is nice, but Mr. Potter is a big war hero and so are you. It's nice, but that's not even a wedding gown."

Ginny looked around. They did have a chance to have a really big, fairy tale wedding, if they wanted to wait another year. No Bloody way! But Coriander was right. This wasn't exactly the Happily Ever After Dream Wedding Ginny had anticipated.

"Your parents, your mother and step-father, had a tiny wedding, but I thought it was beautiful," Ginny finally said. "Sometimes the most important thing is just to have all of the people you love with you for your special day."

"But they are grown-ups and you're a GIRL," Coriander said.

"Your mother is still a girl," Ginny hastened to reply, although she understood the child's distinction.

"She's a mum. It's not the same thing," Coriander said.

"Harry and I could have waited a year and had a big wedding," Ginny said. "There were a lot of reasons why we didn't want to wait."

"Just to do what boys and girls do?" asked Coriander, nodding as though she was very knowledgeable on the subject.

Harry sort of squatted down so he was looking right at Coriander. "I was away from Ginny almost all last year and being apart was hard. Having someone to come home to and talk to and share your life with, that's important. And after last year, that's what we both want. There are some other reasons why we can and should get married now, but it's not just or even primarily because of what boys and girls do after they are married."

Ginny looked at Harry, and nodded as he continued. "It's not the getting married, it's the being married that's important to us, sharing our lives."

"Is that why you married Mum?" Coriander asked Michael?

"Yes, to share our lives. To raise you children, OUR children, our fantastic families, together, and to have each other after you are off on your own," Michael said.

"Am I going to be your daughter even after I'm married?" she asked in astonishment.

"Always! I want your children to be my grandchildren," Michael said.

"I'd have to marry a BOY to do that," Coriander exclaimed like that was the most ridiculous thing in the world to imagine.

She turned to go and Michael said, "Thank Mr. and Mrs. Potter, Coriander."

"Thank you," she said, and then she thought of something. "Mrs. Potter, do you like being Mrs. Potter? It was hard to change my last name."

"I think I will love being Ginny Potter," Ginny said. "I'm not very fond of being called Mrs. Harry James Potter though. That's like I'm not ME anymore."

Coriander thought and then said, "Thank you Mrs. Ginny Potter, and you too Mr. Potter."

"Thank you," Michael said as he took Coriander's hand and led her away.

"I assume you will still be a girl long after you are a mother," Harry said, laughing at Coriander's logic.

"Coriander thinks that if she is nice to Michael, she is somehow betraying her own father," Ginny told Harry. "She is having a really hard time right now."

Just a little while later, Ginny said, "Look." Michael was sitting down, and Coriander was sitting on his lap with her head against him, hugging him. Dick was sitting down next to them, but Rosemary came over to Harry and Ginny and said, "Thank you for talking to Coriander, Ginny."

"I think what Harry said helped more than what I said today," Ginny replied.

"Thank you too, Harry," Rosemary said as she shook both of their hands and then gave them both a big hug.

Ron was pondering his sister and best friend. He was obviously a little uneasy, so Hermione asked, "What's the matter, Ron?"

"She's too young," Ron said.

"She's seventeen," Hermione said, already guessing where he was going with this. "I thought that was the age of majority for witches and wizards."

"She's a year younger than I am, and she's getting married and everything," Ron replied.

"Is it the getting married or the 'everything,' the sex?" Hermione kidded, poking Ron and grinning.

"Well, both," Ron replied, obviously unsure. "I mean, even if you can do it before you're married, you ought to at least be engaged. And that means that you have to buy an engagement ring and ask your girlfriend to marry you. What if she doesn't want to or doesn't like the ring, especially if you're in idiot like me? It's pretty terrifying."

"You have someone in mind, Ron?" Hermione asked, suddenly realizing that this likely didn't have anything to do with Harry and Ginny and more to do with the fact that Ron didn't feel like he could propose to her because of his financial situation. "Maybe the witch holding your hand?"

"Bloody right, Hermione," Ron replied. "You're the only one I'm thinking of like that."

"Well, if you asked, I would say yes. So you can stop worrying about that part," Hermione said.

"Me?" said Ron. "But I'm an idiot sometimes."

Hermione gave a long, drawn out sigh. "True, but you just happen to be the idiot I'm in love with."

"I hardly have any money, and you can't be properly engaged without a ring of some sort. I'm rubbish at picking out that type of stuff," Ron said.

"I don't want a ring any bigger than your mum's and whatever you choose will be perfect, because it'll be from you. That's all that matters to me," Hermione said, smiling when a look of hope and dawning shone in Ron's eyes. "Let's go over and look at her rings."

Ron and Hermione went over to where Arthur and Molly were talking to some people. "May we see your rings, please?" asked Hermione, who knew full well what was on Arthur and Molly's hands. They held out their hands to show a pair of extremely modest gold bands. There was no sign of an engagement ring.

"Did Dad give you an engagement ring?" asked Ron of his mother.

"No, but he gave me eight beautiful children, and there were always things we needed that were more important than a piece of jewelry for me," Molly said. "We talked about it occasionally when we had a little money, but it was never that important."

Hermione looked at Ron and said, "That's what I want, a man that will love me like your father loves your mother. That's more important than any ring." She turned to Arthur and Molly. "Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley."

They left Molly and Arthur. When they were a little ways away from anyone else, Hermione said, "I want to give myself to a man that will be like your father. If you will try to love me like your dad loves your mum, that's all I can ask for."

"I'll try," Ron said.

"Yes," Hermione said. "All you have to do is ask. The answer is already yes."

"I thought Harry was the luckiest bloke in the world right now. I think I'm running a close second. I love you, Hermione. I'll do my best to love you like Dad loves Mum."

"That's all I can ask for," she replied as they kissed. "That's all I could ever ask for."

* * *

It was almost ten in the evening, and Harry and Ginny were exhausted. "How long do we have to stay?" asked Harry.

"Let me ask Mum if we can go," Ginny said. She spotted her father and the couple went over to him. Ginny said, "Dad, we are anxious to get going. Where is Mum?"

"I think you need to cut the wedding cake first," Arthur replied. "Mum is in the kitchen, and I think Auntie Muriel and Aunt Betty are in there as well."

"Oh no," Ginny said. She turned to Harry. "They are cousins, the same age, and they married Weasley cousins. From what I understand, they have been fighting for over a hundred years. My poor wedding cake."

Ginny marched resolutely towards the kitchen, Harry following closely behind. There in the kitchen were the two aunts, one on each side of the wedding cake, with Molly in between. Wands were drawn. The aunts were furious and determined. Molly was obviously both distraught and angry.

Betty's side of the cake was decorated just like she and Ginny had decided. It had 'Harry & Ginny' on the side, in Gryffindor red except the '&' was in gold. Other than that it was a very simple cake with white frosting.

Muriel's side of the cake had bright red hearts and sickly sweet looking cupids, decorations that looked like someone had gone crazy with all of the glitter and satin and trivial love and wedding symbols one could imagine, all made worse by the fact that it was magical and moved.

There was nothing on the top of the cake on Betty's side, but there was a bride and groom on Muriel's side. The bride was dressed in the fanciest lace, satin and silk wedding dress imaginable, high heel shoes, a very long train held up by two flying pink cupids, hair piled on top of her head in a profusion of curls and complexity that made one think of someone who spent all day getting her hair done. Of course a miniature tiara was on top of the hair. Ginny was very cute, but this was about as far away from Ginny's beauty as one could get. The groom was very tall and substantial, with the most over the top dress robes on that one could imagine.

"Let's carry the cake out right now," Ginny said to Harry, and then to her aunts, "No magic. No arguments. No fights."

Ginny got on the side of the cake next to Betty and Harry got between the cake and Muriel. Molly rushed to open the door and said to the two aunts, "Bring cake plates and silverware."

Harry and Ginny carried the cake out to one of the tables that had been set up to hold desserts. A couple of the cousins that were helping with food quickly cleared the table so that Harry and Ginny could put the cake down.

Betty came out with a pile of simple dessert plates and forks. Muriel came out with silver forks and plates with flying cupids and hearts on them. Each aunt stood on her side of the cake.

Ginny whispered to Harry "I want you to have the cake I picked out," as she cut two pieces, one from the Aunt Betty side and one from the Auntie Muriel side. It was a fantastically moist apple cake, with firm bits of tart apples in it. The frosting was a cream cheese frosting with enough lemon to give it a tang. Harry thought it was both delicious and very much like Ginny.

"That's what I was afraid of," Ginny whispered to Harry as she gave him a taste of her piece of cake. The cake itself was the same, but the frosting was one of those empty sugar frostings that look pretty but that are cloyingly sweet, without any substance or interest.

"Your frosting is just like you, complex, interesting, a little tart," Harry said.

Ginny gave a knowing grin. She whispered to Harry, "Are you saying I should be a little tart tonight?"

They enjoyed a mischievous smile and then stood watching over the wedding cake, keeping the peace by their presence as the two aunts glared at each other, until all the cake was served. They were not able to leave until almost eleven at night.

* * *

_I think I've read 1,000,000,000 versions of "Harry and Ginny's perfect Wedding," all pretty much the same. My wife and I've done pre-marriage counseling. I wish some of the brides spent less time planning the 'perfect' wedding and more time thinking about the marriage. I think some of them spend more time picking out a wedding dress than they do picking out the groom! _

_I understand there is another version of McGonagall's life, with a short marriage much later. I'm sorry but I am really not an expert in all the interviews or other things that have added to canon. My beta and I went over the part of the chapter that refers to McGonagall and decided to leave it. At least I will never have Hermione and Draco fall in love. For me canon is mostly the books. I will certainly listen to any problems you have with something I write, and if possible and not too much trouble make my story conform to what Rowling has written or said. _

_Jet. _


	16. Ch 16, The Honeymoon

Ch 16 The Honeymoon

A chapter where we learn that "what comes naturally" still takes practice.

This is the explicit chapter; if you are not old enough you should not read it.

* * *

Harry and Ginny finally got away from the wedding at about 11:00 PM, an hour later than they had planned. They took the Floo to Grimmauld place. As they were going through the drawing room, both of them kicked off their sandals. Harry asked Ginny if she wanted to be carried across the threshold of the bedroom, which she did. As soon as they got into the bedroom, Ginny started to undress Harry. When he was naked, she waved her wand and the dress fell off. Harry noticed that her knickers had come off (Ginny had charmed them so that when her dress came off the knickers did as well.) The only thing still on Ginny was the tiara.

Harry and Ginny stood there looked at each other. "What do we do now?" asked Harry, who wasn't quite sure how the next moments were supposed to unfold. All of the unhelpful advice and warnings of the evening were beginning to really concern him.

"You don't KNOW?" asked Ginny in horror. Looking at Harry and pointing she said, "You put that-" and pointing at herself, "-here."

"I know that!" said an embarrassed Harry. "I think you should get into the bed."

Ginny got into the bed, spread her legs and Harry climbed on top and awkwardly put it where he was supposed to put it. Ginny pulled Harry into her, attacking him so quickly and forcefully that Harry was done very quickly. Ginny was just getting going and looked at Harry in horror. "I'm not ready to stop! Keep going. I'm just getting started."

Harry looked embarrassed and said, "Sorry, Ginny, not much I can do right now."

"WHY NOT?" Ginny shouted. She was very naïve. Despite wanting sex, she really did not know much. She had no idea that once a man was finished, it was going to take a little while before he could do anything again.

Harry was not any more knowledgeable than Ginny, and said, "How should I know? I've never done this before. Maybe we should have taken more time?"

Ginny was frantic and a very long way from being satisfied sexually. She shouted "MORE TIME! I've waited months for this and it's all over."

Harry said "I don't think so. Just give me a little time to be able to …

"Ginny, I'm sorry. No one tells you exactly what to do. Well, maybe they do if you ask, but I couldn't exactly go up to your father and say, 'how do I have sex with your daughter?' Maybe that's why people have honeymoons? Maybe you have to practice this?"

Ginny said, "Hold me, Harry. How come just when everything is supposed to be so perfect it never is?"

Harry shifted position to kiss Ginny and started to chuckle. He reached up and moved the tiara away from the pillow. "We did something right," Harry said as he kissed Ginny again. "The tiara is no longer attached."

Ginny silently laughed. "That's certainly a plus," she replied, realizing that what had happened (or not depending on perspective) was not Harry's fault. Not for the first time that day, she thought that the _Touch of Lust _spell had worked far too well indeed.

Harry and Ginny held each other for some time, gradually kissing and touching each other. Soon enough, Harry could tell that he was going to be able to have sex again. This time, when both of them were ready, they gently made love. Harry tried to hold off for as long as he could. Ginny tried to relax a little and not be quite so eager, and the second time was much more pleasant than the first. They fell asleep exhausted.

At about 3:00 in the morning Ginny woke up, still horny. The bedroom was warm, too warm, but at least it was comfortable naked. Harry was lying on his side, and Ginny turned him over so he was on his back. She was curious what would happen if she touched it. She gently started to touch it and got a reaction both from it and from the other end, where Harry got a big smile on his face. A little more vigorous stroking had him wide awake. She reached up to kiss Harry and grabbed hard … a different part down there this time.

"BLOODY HELL, GINNY, ARE YOU TRYING TO CASTRATE ME?" Harry yelled. He was reaching down to where she had grabbed him, obviously in pain.

"What did I do?" Ginny asked in horror, looking at the pain in Harry's features.

Harry took a good two minutes or more to try to focus and compose himself. The intense pain was beginning to subside, but it was going to ache down there.

"Did your brothers ever come in holding their bottoms when they had been hit down there? Did you ever see how they reacted to a hit in just the right spot?" Harry asked.

"I did that to you?" Ginny asked in horror.

"This part down here be very gentle with," Harry said as he showed her.

"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry," Ginny said. She felt horrible. She'd messed up again. Nothing was working out right. She and Harry held each other for quite a while.

"Are we going to make love again?" asked Ginny timidly, as it appeared that Harry was drifting back to sleep.

"It still hurts, Ginny," said Harry. "Give me a little more time."

Harry went to sleep with a dull ache down there.

It took Ginny a long time to get to sleep, and she went to sleep worried.

Harry woke up at about seven thirty, late for him. It was warm in the bedroom. There were no covers on. His beautiful Ginny was lying on bed, her hair flying all over. She had just turned over on her back, her legs were spread a little, and he could see both scars. The one on her leg was bigger than he realized it was, and he could only imagine how much it must have hurt. He gently touched the scar on her breast, and she woke up. "Are you all right?" she asked, and he responded with a gentle kiss.

"I should be fine," Harry said, as it appeared he was going to be able to make love to Ginny again. He didn't want to tell her it still ached where she had grabbed him.

Again everything happened too soon for Ginny, although it was not nearly as frustrating as the first time. Harry seemed satisfied every time, but it was not quite so easy for her. Why? Was sex something you had to learn? And how could she tell Harry? Maybe it was all her.

They both had to go to the bathroom by this time. Harry shaved. They both brushed their teeth, went back to the bed and Ginny attacked again, this time with kisses and hands all over his body but not trying finish until both of them were ready. Ginny was getting a little sore, but she really liked this sex stuff. It was just taking a little time to get it right. Harry was also sore, inside. He thought there might be spells for this and all kinds of other things, and although he hated to sound like Hermione, there must be books for this sort of thing.

They both fell asleep again, waking at about nine-thirty. Harry looked at Ginny and said, "Would you mind if we had breakfast before more of this necessary practice?"

"No, as long as we practice some more later," said Ginny with a big smile.

Ginny looked around the bedroom. There on the floor was the tiara. "It came off after," Ginny said with a snarky smile on her face.

"You can't say nothing went amiss," Harry said.

"But I'm obviously a missus, not a miss," Ginny said as she showed the tiara to Harry before putting it on top of a chest.

Harry made breakfast. "I asked Kreacher if he could eat at Hogwarts or with the people at the Harry Potter Estates and leave us alone," said Harry. "He has a few things in his space in the attic, but I wanted the rest of the house for us this week."

"I can make lunch and dinner," said Ginny. "Mum did teach all of us to cook, but I think I got more lessons than any of the boys."

"What do you want to do today and tomorrow?" asked Harry as they sat down for breakfast. "We have to sign some legal documents at the Harry Potter Estates offices on Friday, but Saturday is totally free as well."

"Other than make love?" asked Ginny.

"I want to do plenty of that too!" exclaimed Harry. "After last night, I guess we need lots of practice! But we probably can't spend every waking moment that we're not eating in bed love-making."

"Mum mentioned that she had a book with love-making spells that she was going to give me," said Ginny. "She had them at the Burrow when it was destroyed, and I guess she did not get any others by the wedding. I'm not sure I want to go to the store and buy a book like that and announce to the world that Harry and Ginny Potter don't know how to make love. We did all right! It got better."

"Boys are supposed to know what to do without anyone telling them anything," Harry replied. "It is very personal. I guess dads are supposed to tell you about that. Maybe I could have asked Bill, but Fleur was there a lot, and I surely didn't want to ask Bill when Fleur was there!"

"Bill, Fleur, Harry and I would like a demonstration, just so we do it right when we get married," Ginny said, and then she and Harry both began to giggle. Every time one of them would stop they would look at each other and start giggling again. It took several minutes for the giggling to die down.

Finally Ginny said, "Luna asked if we'd had a demonstration."

"And?" asked Harry, thinking there was more to the story.

"I think she wanted us to volunteer to demonstrate when she's ready to get married," Ginny responded.

Harry shook his head. "No bloody way! Luna would ask, too! George sort of volunteered, or said he should have volunteered, and I found out that George and Angelina's first time was awkward too."

"Mum started to talk about it several times," Ginny said, looking like she was pondering the situation, "but we never got too far into it before somebody interrupted us or we ended up talking about other things. Lots of advice about being married, talking about how Mum's worried about everybody. About how hard everybody is working, you, Dad, Bill and Fleur. Mum never used to be too worried about Fleur, but after what she did healing people at the Battle, and then without a break she started helping Bill, Fleur has started to rank amongst Mum's kids."

"It doesn't look like Fleur had any problem with Teddy," Harry said.

"Teddy did everything he could to make Fleur look less elegant," Ginny said. "He drooled, he spit up, he wiggled. Nothing worked! I think Fleur could look elegant with a baby puking all over her."

"How is Mum handling being Teddy's mother?" Harry asked.

"I think that's easier than taking care of Andromeda," Ginny replied. "Some days Andromeda is so good, ready to help with Teddy and the house and everything, and then some days she just can't seem to get out of bed or do anything. You haven't been around to see how many times we have had to call a healer over or take Andromeda to St. Mungo's."

"So that's what happened when you and your mother started to talk about sex, you ended up talking about something else, just like we did right now," Harry said with a grin.

Ginny laughed. "Well, sort of. And we talked a little about sex, but not about how to udo/u it. And I know I'm not always the most patient person in the world but I had no idea that, I mean, I guess Mum did say something about you needing to be patient with me, that it could take more time with a woman. But I never realized that I needed to be patient with you sometimes."

Harry was laughing now. "Miss 'yessed me into marrying her' not patient?"

"Missus now, not miss, not after last night and this morning," Ginny said. Then with a snarky grin, she went on, "And after breakfast and this afternoon and tonight." Ginny got up from the table and Harry gladly followed. Harry had heard a couple of comments about Molly's female ancestors, and it looked like Molly's female descendant was at least as interested in sex as her ancestors, to Harry's absolute and total delight.

After a satisfactory session of 'practice,' Ginny looked at herself and Harry and the bed. "Everything is a little messy," she said. "I can scourgify the bed, but we need to wash." Ginny got a big grin on her face and said, "Mum did say that it was fun to shower together. I think Mum was kind of embarrassed when she said it, but she said washing each other's backs is nice, and washing each other's fronts is even nicer, and there is nothing quite like getting your hair washed while in the shower holding on to your husband."

Harry did not need any convincing that standing in the shower with a naked Ginny would be a very good thing indeed, and he was not disappointed. When they got to the hair washing, Ginny said, "I made the shampoo myself. You can buy a scent kit. With your wand and the potions in the kit, you take smells you like and put them into shampoo."

Harry always liked the smell of Ginny's hair. It was flowery without being sickly sweet, a little sharp like the cake and frosting. To have the smell coming straight out of the bottle, rubbing it on Ginny's head, was surprisingly erotic. When they were done with Ginny's hair, they got Harry's shampoo. He knelt down while Ginny washed his hair. This gave Harry a whole different view of Ginny, and before they were done, they were both touching, laughing and enjoying each other's bodies.

At lunch Harry said, "If we are going to live here, I want to remodel the house."

"How?" asked Ginny. "I want it brighter! It's still terribly dark and gloomy."

"I want electricity and television and a telephone connected to the Muggle community," Harry explained. "I want our children to grow up in both the Muggle and the Magic communities, like I have."

"Electricity, plugs?" Ginny exclaimed. "Dad will be thrilled. Someone else in the family actually using plugs."

"Your dad's view of the Muggle community is rather limited sometimes," Harry remarked fondly. "He's a lot better than some people raised in totally magical environments, but surprisingly ignorant about some things most muggles take for granted."

Ginny told Harry, "Dad's thrilled that the New Burrow has electricity, but it's surprisingly hard to get Mum to even turn on the lights. She looks scared every time she touches a light switch. The remote control for the television absolutely terrifies her."

"I definitely don't want our children to grow up like that," Harry said.

"Let's take a walk around the block and see what the other houses look like," said Harry just a little later. "I guess we have to make sure one of the Aurors is outside to follow us when we open the door, but they did say that they would just follow at a distance." Harry and Ginny went upstairs, out the front door and nodded to the Shooks, who were outside guarding the house. Then hand in hand they started to walk around the block.

"Look, Ginny," said Harry as he pointed at a house. "That house has larger windows and even a skylight in the roof. And that house has window wells so that the lower level windows can be bigger and let in more light." They had turned right out of their house, and the house numbers went down to one. As they turned right again and started to head around the block Harry noticed garages behind the end houses. "I wonder if there is any way to put a garage behind our house and get a car in and out," Harry mused.

"You want to buy a car?" Ginny asked in amazement.

"Not right now, but eventually, yes, a car would be nice," said Harry.

As they got towards the end of the block of houses behind theirs, Harry stood back and counted, "Twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen. This side of the block has fifteen houses and our side has fourteen, plus our house which is hidden. Why muggles don't notice I don't understand." As they rounded the other end of the block Harry said, "More garages."

They finally got back to twelve Grimmauld Place and went back inside.

Harry and Ginny went back up to their bedroom. It looked out the front of the house. All of the bedrooms looked out either the front or the back of the house, and were as wide as the house. They went over to the bedroom on the other side of the floor overlooking the garden. "We can see better if we go up to the top floor," said Harry as they looked out over the garden. So they went the two stories up to the top floor and looked out over the garden area. Most of the houses had nice gardens or at least something green in the back. The only back area that looked like a junk yard was theirs. At least it was magically hidden from the other houses so that no one else could see it.

"We need a nice garden area, with a place for children to play," said Harry.

"It's not a very big garden," Ginny responded. "But I guess the New Burrow is just a Floo away. Six bedrooms on three floors, and they are big bedrooms! You could have a big family in this house."

"As many as you want," Harry responded with a grin.

"All you have to do is get them started," Ginny said. "I'm the one who has to be pregnant for nine months and then nurse them for another year. I know I want children but after Quidditch, if I get to play. More than one, probably more than two, but not as many as Mum."

It was about six, and Harry and Ginny had been over the house a couple more times, talking about everything. They had another session of 'necessary practice' too.

"Do you want to get out of the house again?" asked Harry.

"You think that on your honeymoon all you are going to want to do is to be in bed making love," Ginny replied. "We do a lot of that. But yes, I'd like to get out of the house."

"Let's see if there is a nice restaurant around here and go out to dinner," Harry suggested.

Ginny grinned in mock surprise. "Why, Mr. Potter, are you asking me out?"

"Why yes, Mrs. Potter," Harry replied.

"Where should we go?" Ginny asked.

Harry had to think about this. He really didn't know the neighborhood all that well. Finally he said, "Maybe the Aurors know the neighborhood better than we do. I want to go to a muggle restaurant where we won't be recognized."

Harry poked his head out the front door. Jim Shook was there, and Harry asked him, "Are there any good Muggle restaurants around here? Ginny and I would like to go someplace that we can walk to and have a good dinner."

"There is a great little Italian place about three blocks from here. Sue and I have been there a couple of times when we have been watching the house, just after changing shifts. Let me see if the Williamsons want to go too. It is getting close to the time we would change shifts anyway." Jim pulled out his cell phone and tapped the screen a couple of times. "David, the Potters want to go out to dinner, and I suggested Mario's. Why don't you meet us and we can all walk down there together? Mr. and Mrs. Potter can sit at a private table, but we can watch them."

There was a couple of minutes' pause, and Jim said, "David has to ask Kim." Finally a voice came back on the phone, and Jim turned to Harry and said, "Meet at the front door at 6:30."

"Great!" Harry exclaimed.

Ginny, who had been at Harry's side the whole time, said, "I'd better change into some muggle clothes. Although she and her mother had been shopping for clothes several times since the Battle of Hogwarts, Ginny's wardrobe was rather limited. She thought that her mother's favorite comment when they were shopping for things they did not actually have to have was "There's plenty of money in Gringotts, but," the 'but' meaning that spending money on herself was still hard for Molly. Ginny did find one nice skirt and blouse outfit. Harry had a casual shirt and slacks.

The restaurant was a local one with tile floors. There were several families there, including one family that included a child between a year and a year and a half who was having a delightful time shoving a spaghetti dish into his mouth one messy handful at a time. Neither the rather rotund proprietor nor the waitress seemed to mind the mess accumulating underneath the young child's high chair.

Ginny, whose entire exposure to restaurants had been the Leaky Cauldron and some of the shops in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, asked Harry, "Are all muggle restaurants like this."

"No, not at all of them," Harry replied. "I've eaten in a lot of restaurants, a fair number of them muggle or muggle with a magical section when Bill and I were traveling. None of them were as child-friendly as this one! I'm sure we will come here with our children. … When we have children. … After your fantastically successful Quidditch career."

"Mr. Harry Potter has gone from the hero of the Wizarding world to the goat, at least to Holyhead Harpies fans, by getting his wife the famous chaser Ginny Potter pregnant. 'Harry is just too sexy to resist,' Mrs. Potter is quoted as saying. 'And I'm just going to stay home and make love to him, and make lots of pretty babies.'" Ginny laughed as she said this.

The food was delicious, the conversation light and happy, and Mario himself sat down, introduced himself and invited them back.

"I can't help but notice how child-friendly this place is," Harry commented to Mario.

"Mama and I have five," Mario said. "One she's a software engineer, another he's a pilot, one daughter she married a chef and they own another little restaurant. One son and his wife, a daughter and her husband, they work here with me and Mama. 'You marry a restaurant owner, you marry the restaurant,' they say."

A young lady who looked like the owner's daughter was listening in, and she piped up with, "And you grow up washing dishes."

All in all, the meal was delightful, and Harry and Ginny promised Mario that they would be back.

Wednesday evening Harry and Ginny had a delightful session of lovemaking, much better than the first time twenty four hours before. Finally Harry and Ginny learned how to turn her on without initiating the sex act too quickly, and finally she felt the kind of climax that she had been anticipating. Both went to bed feeling very good. Besides, they had turned down the temperature in the bedroom, and it looked like they might get a good night's sleep.

Sometime in the middle of the night Harry thought he heard a "Ahhhhh thump." Someone had pulled the blankets off him. He awoke with a start to find himself on Ginny's side of the bed, and she was gone! In a panic he crawled over to his side of the bed, got his glasses and wand, and went back to the other side of the bed. There poking her head up, covered with blankets, was a very groggy Ginny.

Harry had to go to the loo, and just as he was done, Ginny appeared. Harry went back to the freshly made bed and waited for Ginny.

She got back into bed, looked at Harry and said, "You pushed me off the bed."

"You stole all the blankets," Harry replied.

Ginny said, "I used to read stupid romances that a couple of the other witches had. Well, I really couldn't stand most of them, with the poor heroine being rescued by the brave hero, so I just skipped to the sex parts. 'After an evening of passionate lovemaking, they fell asleep in each other arm's.' Of course they never told you how they did it, who touched who where, just 'made passionate love.' I don't think anybody in the books ever had to use the loo or fight for bed space either."

"Or fight for the blanket all night," said Harry.

Ginny crawled back under the covers, started to pull the blankets over her, looked at Harry with a sheepish grin and tried to get comfortable without wrapping herself in the blankets. Harry tried to go to sleep on his side of the bed.

Harry woke up first, as he usually did. He noticed that he was in the middle of the bed but that he was barely covered with blankets. As he got out of bed, Ginny turned and rolled herself in the rest of the blankets.

On Thursday right after lunch, Harry poked his head out the front door again. "Ginny and I would like to go clothes shopping," Harry said to Jim.

"Diagon Alley or muggle clothing stores?" asked Jim.

"Lots more choices in muggle stores," said Sue. "We have a Muggle car we've rented. Gives us a place to sit down and stay out of the rain. We don't drive it much, but it would be ideal to go clothes shopping."

Harry had no remotely acceptable muggle clothes left, and Ginny was ready to throw out everything he owned and start over. He was easy to shop for, as long as they went to a store with small enough sizes, with the two women making all the choices. Harry did say he probably needed a muggle suit for a few of the business meetings, and he ended up with one suit, an outfit with a sports jacket and slacks, six more formal shirts and four silk ties. He also had half a dozen slacks and half a dozen jeans, a couple of pair of shorts, fifteen casual shirts, and a two week supply of underwear. They also purchased a light weight jacket and a medium weight jacket, gloves and a hat.

Sue knew of a muggle store that specialized in petite women. Ginny also ended up with half a dozen jeans, along with four pair of slacks, six skirts, and eighteen blouses. She also found five dresses, ranging from casual to very formal. If it looked good on her, Harry would insist that they buy it. Ginny had never had much of a wardrobe growing up, and clothes were worn until they were past threadbare. They were only able to take a few clothes from the Burrow when they fled, so she was seriously short of clothing herself.

As they were buying all of the clothes, Ginny spied a couple of cute looking bras that she thought she would try on. When she tried the first one on, she asked Sue to come into the dressing room with her.

"This bra is way too tight around the middle," Ginny said. "Where are the spells for support?"

"I wear a lot of muggle clothes, but I'd never wear a Muggle bra. They're terrible!" Sue exclaimed.

"Fleur's bigger than I am and Mum, well she's pretty heavy, but she's also pretty big on top. These things," as Ginny pointed to the two bras she was trying on, "hold you up without any magic?"

"Sort of," said Sue. "But I'd never wear one of them. I'll take you to a foundations shop in Diagon Alley after your honeymoon."

Before they were done, Ginny also purchased a light weight jacket, a medium weight jacket, gloves and four hats.

Ginny was anxious to get back to flying, and Harry was a little concerned about all the work he was suppose to have done before Auror training started. But neither of them wanted to suggest ending the honeymoon early.

* * *

By Friday August 14, Harry and Ginny were beginning to get into a morning routing. It started out with a visit to the loo, they brushed their teeth and Harry shaved. Then, when they were refreshed, they went back to bed for "necessary practice." By 8:30 AM, they were dressed and down for breakfast. By 9:30, they were ready to take the Floo to the Ministry. Ginny was surprised by the amount of legal detail involved in getting married. She needed a magical ID, a muggle ID with her age listed as eighteen so she would not be in trouble for being underage, plus a passport. There was a credit card which was good at muggle shops and something similar from Gringotts for use at magical shops around the world. Then there was the property that was being put in joint custody, including all of the estates on which they were working. She had never seen Harry's office at the Harry Potter Estates offices. It was large for an office, with two desks against one wall and a conference table for eight or ten people that could be magically enlarged as necessary. The sign on the door said, "Harry and Ginny Potter."

"Harry, what is this for?" asked Ginny.

Harry replied, "When I need to meet with people privately, I need an office. Sometimes there are charity cases where someone from the foundation needs to meet with me privately. I was hoping you could help. Besides, you are a very powerful witch in your own right and ought to be able go unhex some of these estates that Bill still will not be able to do all by himself, because the marriage bond is a lot closer than being a brother-in-law."

Ginny asked, "What am I going to do?"

Harry answered, "We're not sure, but when you married me, you took on a whole lot more than just a bed partner. Sorry, Gin, but it comes with being Mrs. Harry Bloody Potter."

Fleur was guiding Harry and Ginny on the tour. As they got ready to leave the office, Ginny said, "Fleur, this office needs one more thing."

"What ez at?" asked Fleur.

"A bed so that Harry can take a nap and not come home so bloody tired all the time," Ginny fiercely replied.

"Everybody ez working too 'ard," Fleur mused, her eyes bright as she seemed deep in thought.

They had lunch with Bill, Fleur and Michael, and then had to go back for another couple of hours of paperwork. They got home at about 3:30, just in time for a little "practice" before dinner.

Saturday was spent very much like Wednesday, "practice" plus making plans for the house.

* * *

Since George owned a store and Ron was working there, Sunday morning was the only time Molly could get the whole family together, and she intended to have all her children over as many Sundays as she could. The stores opened at noon on Sunday. By 9:00 AM everybody except Harry and Ginny were at the breakfast table. Harry and Ginny arrived just after 9:00. Their "practice" took a little longer than they had anticipated.

After quick hellos all around, Ron piped up, "How is the newly married couple? Was your first time really as good as they say it is?"

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, both with a little panic on their faces as they remembered their awkward initial attempts.

Harry was trying to find some way of saying "none of your business" without giving away that the first time was something of a disaster.

Ginny had the strangest look on her face, partly anger, partly embarrassment and partly just being totally at loss for words. She was never at loss for words.

Ron panicked and said, "You did it? You're not still a…?"

"WHAT?!" yelled Ginny. Then quietly, she said, "I'm not still what? Of course, we did it. uLots!/u" Ginny stared at Ron some more, both determined and obviously upset. She finally said, loud enough so everyone could hear, "Your baby sister is not a virgin, if that's what you are asking."

"That's obvious, Ron," Hermione said. "Ginny's not wearing the tiara."

"It didn't take long fore the tiara to come off," Ginny said, beaming. "It came off right away!"

Everyone started to laugh except for Audrey and Ron. Ron was embarrassed, and Hermione was embarrassed for Ron, although she was giggling. Angelina and George grabbed each other's hands and Angelina whispered, "Shut up" to George as they both stifled giggles.

Audrey was trying to disappear, and Percy stayed quiet. Bill and Fleur were grinning at each other and Arthur was grinning at Molly. And Molly's laughter got louder and louder. She left to go to her bedroom, came back with two copies of a book **Witches' and Wizards' Graphic Guide to Married Sex** and presented one copy to Ginny and a second to Angelina. They both looked totally shocked.

Fleur said, "You did not give it to zem before zey married?"

Molly said, "The books I had were gone along with everything else that was at the Burrow, and I just got a couple more this week."

Ron grabbed the book and tried to get it out of the plain cardboard jacket it was in, but it would not budge. Molly looked at Ron and said, "You have to be married or engaged with a firm wedding date or the book is charmed not to come out of its jacket, Ron. This is for married couples only. I am sure Ginny will not have any problem."

Ginny took back the book and pulled it out of the jacket. Inside the front page were the names of the couple who were the author and another couple who were the illustrators, plus thanks to four couples who had proofread the book and given advice. The last couple listed was Arthur and Molly Weasley. Ginny looked at her mother with her eyes wide open. "You helped with this book?" Her mother nodded yes, a big smile on her face that reminded Harry of Ginny's famous smirk. "About sex?!" an astonished Ginny asked. She had been very keen to read this book until that moment.

Molly replied, "Well none of you were exactly a virgin birth. If we had had a child for every time we had married relations, I expect Hogwarts would not be big enough for all of the children." Molly ended by giving Arthur a huge hug and very long and passionate kiss.

Ginny opened the book a little further until she came to the first illustration and then quickly slammed it shut, putting it back into its case. Her eyes were wide open and her face had gotten red.

Molly smiled a knowing smile, glancing at Arthur who was getting a little red but also looking very pleased, and said, "Put it in your bedroom, Ginny dear. You and Harry should read it together. I am sure you will have lots of fun." Looking at Ron and Hermione, but also Percy and Audrey, she said, "I have more of these books if anyone else decides they want to get married."

Hermione gave Ron a kiss and said, "Take your time, Ron. I'll wait. It has to be the right moment for us, not for anyone else."

Ron looked at his mother exasperatedly and said, "Thanks a lot, Mum. No pressure, but …."

"I hope you're enjoying sleeping together," said Angelina to Harry and Ginny.

"You're sleeping together, in the same bed?" Ron remarked with his trademark horrified look.

An exasperated Hermione promptly jumped in with, "Ron, of course they are sleeping the same bed! They're married. Honestly, I don't know what you're thinking sometimes!"

"No! No! It's not like that," Ron replied. "It's just that Harry is a terribly restless sleeper. His blankets are always messed up, and occasionally I've found him on the floor. Ginny's in the same bed with Harry?"

Ginny had a very exasperated look on her face, and Harry had a very sheepish look on his face. "Harry's not the one who ended up on the floor," Ginny muttered.

Everybody but Percy and Audrey started to laugh again. Bill was laughing especially hard, and Fleur, although laughing, was looking a little embarrassed too. "My lovely wife grew up with a huge bed, and she learned to use every square millimeter of it," Bill explained. "We will give you a couple of spells and other ways of making peace with each other's sleeping habits."

Harry and Ginny were holding hands, and they nodded to each other and turned towards Bill and Fleur.

"That's probably a really good idea, if I'm going to be sleeping with this restless sleeper," Ginny remarked to her brother and his wife, pointing to Harry.

Angelina looked at George and said, "Blankets."

Fleur looked at Bill and said, "Vy do you zink I vas all over ze bed? Chasing ze blanket."

Bill looked embarrassed.

Molly cheerily said, "I have a couple of spells all of you females who are going to be sleeping with Weasley men can use to keep them from stealing all the blankets."

Harry looked at Molly. "Not just Weasley men, Mum."

Ginny muttered, "None of those romance books talked about the practical aspects of sleeping in the same bed."

"Ah," Fleur said. "Fi Fi la Poof Poof and ze Mister Big Pants, Oh la la." She shook her head. "Seely lettle girl books. Ez not so ezy."

No one said anything for a brief while. "How are your wedding plans coming along, George, Angelina?" asked Molly, changing the conversation.

Before the discussion about George and Angelina's wedding was done, Teddy woke up. Harry said he would change Teddy. He then came into the kitchen, and Molly reached for Teddy. Harry gave Teddy to Molly. She did something, and as if by magic, Molly seemed to be nursing Teddy. Everybody looked at Molly, who said, "I got tired of getting bottles. I thought, 'this is stupid,' so I went over to see Minerva Grint. She said that she could get me a Mother Minerva's bra that would encourage me to produce milk again. After nursing all of those babies, it really would not take all that much magic to get my breasts back to making milk. We're about half way there. In another week, I won't even need the Mother Minerva's bra."

"You know Mother Minerva?" asked Ginny.

"The Wizarding community in Britain is reasonably small," said Molly. "I think I know every witch in Britain who has had more than three children."

"How many did Mother Minerva have?" asked Ginny.

"Seven, I think," said Molly. "She is a generation older than I am. I'm close to the same age as one of her daughters, Monica Watson, who helps with the business. Didn't you go out with Monica's oldest daughter, Bill?"

"She was in Ravenclaw," said Bill. "Margaret Watson, well she's married now, Margaret … something. Smart, great personality. We were still seeing each other after we graduated. I thought it would take someone as smart as a Tri-Wizard winner and as beautiful as a Veela to be any better than Margaret. Little did I know that I would meet someone so incredibly fantastic as Fleur."

"Oh that was smooth, Bill," said George. "All the rest of us would be in trouble if we remembered a former girlfriend like that. Fred always took the lead when it came to girls, and I honestly don't think I ever had any girl but Angelina. I definitely don't want anyone else. She surely has all the right parts." The room sort of giggled at this remark.

Everyone sort of looked over at Ron, who was getting very nervous. 'I'm anything but smooth,' thought Ron as he said, "Hermione has all the right parts too." Everybody was suddenly staring at Ron. "And in the right places too," Ron added hopefully. Ron wasn't exactly anxious to let his mother know just how many of those parts he had seen and touched, and what they had been doing with some of those parts.

Hermione looked at Ron, looked at herself and kind of rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I can't remember anyone but Ginny," said Harry looking longingly at her, "the cutest little witch in the world. Am I lucky?"

Molly was not above a little banter, and she said, "George, Angelina, I see your parts are working well together, seeing as we have another Weasley on the way."

"Separately and together, Mum," said George.

"The midwife says I'm as healthy as a horse," said Angelina proudly.

"And a lot prettier," said George, looking longingly at Angelina.

"GEORGE!" said Angelina in mock horror, giving him a tap on the leg.

"I'm glad I'm not part of this conversation," said Charlie.

"I'll let my part-ner do the talking," said Arthur. Everybody groaned.

Percy and Audrey had stayed silent. Percy thought this was normal family banter. Audrey was extraordinarily shy about body parts, although she seemed to like holding and kissing in private, so he wanted to try to not have her or them a focus of this type of banter.

Audrey could not believe how free the joking and conversation was between Percy's parents and their spouses or girlfriends. Her father was a very nice person, but her mother in all honesty was not. Living in her house was like living in a place where there was an uneasy truce but no true peace.

Harry and Ginny stayed after the rest of the family had left. Harry and Ginny both found it hard to leave Teddy. For Sunday morning, the Appleleaf family was eating in the dining room, giving the extended Weasley family time to themselves in the big kitchen. Molly had insisted on having the formal dining area capable of being opened up into the kitchen eating area, but normally they were closed off from each other.

Harry and Arthur took a tour of the house. Arthur was still amazed by the electric lights and was working hard on controlling his magic to get the lights to work. He had tried to turn the lights on and off with magic a couple of times, and Grainger and Grunt had a couple of reasonably major repairs to do. There was a special piece of equipment that could be used to teach a wizard how to turn lights on and off with the wand, but Arthur had been told that he needed a couple of years of living with lights and television before he could even think of using a combination of magic and electricity. Molly was afraid of the electric lights, and Ginny had to encourage her mother to use them. Ginny was just beginning to realize how little she knew about the Muggle community.

* * *

_My wife and I gave a talk on "Sex, Love and Marriage to a group of 12th graders at our church early in our (now 44 years) marriage, and one of the questions was "is the first night really as good as they say it is?" After we got done laughing we explained that like anything else physical you do sex takes practice._

_The first time you do anything else it's awkward, and I don't see why sex is assumed to be any different. And yes, although it is less common, there are still couples who wait until their wedding night. Even if they don't, it's different with each person. So the first time for any new couple is a learning experience and something that needs practice._

_Jet_


	17. Ch 17 Boris, Natasha and Angry Kreacher

Ch 17 HPFF

Boris and Natasha and an Angry Kreacher

_"Oh Ginny, I've never seen anything like it! I never thought I'd see Kreacher so mad at a goblin that he was jumping up and down, pointing his finger at the goblins. It would be funny, if the atmosphere was not so tense."_

Monday August 17 Harry woke up at about six thirty. This was, in some ways, the first day of the rest of their lives, the first day he was going to work after the wedding. He went to the bathroom, used the loo and touched his wand to the toothbrush. As the toothbrush was thoroughly cleaning his teeth he did the shaving spell.

Ginny came into the bathroom, naked as was Harry, and sat down on the loo. Harry reflected on how natural it was to be starkers in front of your bride. It would have been embarrassing to be watching a bloke sitting on the loo like that, not to mention a woman with her legs spread apart, but with his wife it was like there was no need for any modesty.

Ginny grinned and said, "Quick shag before breakfast?" Harry went to work feeling very satisfied. Life was good.

Ginny watched Harry leave through the Floo. She waved her wand a few times to wash and put away the dishes. She looked out over the garden, still a junk yard. The kitchen was a little lighter, but it was still the old Black kitchen.

She went up to their bedroom, waved the wand a couple more times to make the bed and neaten the room. She sat cross legged in the middle of the bed and pondered. She looked at her rings, the magnificent engagement and wedding rings. What was wrong? Well, it wasn't like anything was wrong, not really. Being married felt very good and right.

Getting married wasn't quite the Happily Ever After ending she though it would be.

Well, she'd really botched it with her rant at the wedding, her face flushing with the thought.

It was more than that. No, it wasn't more than that, it was LESS than that. It was this incomplete feeling.

The house felt like the old Black house and maybe Harry's house, but not like HER house.

The bedroom didn't feel like HER bedroom yet, not quite.

She didn't feel like a grownup married lady yet either, not with a year of school left. She would be married at Hogwarts, but she'd still be a Hogwarts student at Hogwarts, not a grownup.

Harry was a grownup. Not just because he was 18, either. Even when he was taking classes, the teachers bent the rules around his schedule.

Her dad said that Harry was already becoming a respected member of the Wizengamot, because of what he had done, but also because of what he said and who he was. He was a truly nice person, always willing to listen to others, trying to see the best in people and give them the benefit of the doubt. He was almost always in favor of showing mercy, Lucius Malfoy being a notable exception, and even there he did not want dementors involved in any way. At the same time, he was no pushover. He was willing to fight fiercely for what he believed in.

Bill said that although Harry had very little to do with the financial affairs of the Harry Potter Estates, in the end, it was his insistence on fair play and generosity that set the tone for the whole organization. "There is no doubt in anyone's mind that Harry is in charge," Bill had told her.

Harry had been a grownup from the moment he and Riddle dueled and he won and maybe well before that. If anyone wrote Harry's story, they would have to end it there, at the duel, at least end a chapter, a book, at that magnificent moment when Harry caught Riddle's wand, standing there victorious.

Ginny knew that she really couldn't expect a fairy tale wedding, and if they had waited they could have had something close to it. She didn't want to wait, but somehow getting married in a sun dress felt like less than what she sort of expected.

Ranting at one's wedding wasn't much of a fairy tale ending either.

Ginny really didn't even want to live in a castle! The old Black house was big enough, but living in a house that reminded her all the time that it was someone else's house was awkward too. She wanted it to be HER house.

Then she was going to be a school girl again, and that was certainly not in any of the Happily Ever After types of stories.

Life was good, better than before she and Harry were married, but incomplete. Ginny needed more, needed some things to be accomplished. She needed some sort of finish to this portion of her life.

After all of the talk about never leaving her, of course Harry left to go to work. She was going to go to school and Harry was training to be an Auror. If she became a player on the Harpies, she would be traveling. Her parents probably spent over half of their waking hours or more apart, but they had never "left" each other. What did "never leave me" mean?

Ginny had not scheduled any more Quidditch practices. There were some problems scheduling them so close to the start of the school year. Besides, the New Burrow wasn't where she was living any more. Ginny thought that she ought to be doing something, but what? Was there anything left undone? Oh, the bras! Maybe Mum knew where the bra shop was. Mum or Sue. Ginny poked her head outside the door and saw Kim. "Do you have to stay outside?" Ginny asked Kim.

"No, not at all. We just don't want to intrude," Kim said.

Waving her inside Ginny said, "I tried on muggle bras for the first time when we went clothes shopping."

"You didn't buy one!" a horrified Kim said. "All that elastic and no spells."

"No," Ginny said, with a laugh. "I need some though. I thought I'd ask my Mum to go with me to get some new bras."

"I probably ought to have one new one," Kim said. "Just in case."

"Just in case what?" asked Ginny.

"David and I have stopped using birth control," Kim said. "We thought it was time to start a family, and I just found out I'm pregnant. I have an older sister. We don't get along all that well since I left for school to become a witch, but when she got pregnant she got pretty big on top real fast. I ought to see if they have a bra that can adjust."

When they got to the New Burrow, Ginny said, "Mum, the one thing I didn't get when we went clothes shopping was new bras."

Molly said, "Give me a moment to tidy up, and then I know just where to go."

They took the floo to the WWW office, where everybody was very busy with school shopping. "I'd better schedule a date to get books and stuff," Ginny said.

"Maybe you and Hermione could go together," suggested Molly as they headed out the door.

Down towards the end of the street there was a sign in a door that obviously led to an upstairs store. MOTHER MINERVA Maternity and infant supplies, feminine undergarments. The three women climbed the stairway and looked around. Ginny and Kim both did a double take. Coming towards them was a woman, at least a generation older than her mother, with the biggest bust either of them could remember on a woman that was not obese. She was wearing a witch's robe, but it had an empire waist under the bust, and whatever was holding up the bust was a fantastic endorsement for her product. She showed just enough cleavage, giving proof that all of that superstructure was her.

"Finally going to buy a good bra Molly?" Minerva said.

"Minerva, this is my daughter Ginny Potter and Kim Williamson, an American Auror," Molly said. "Ginny and I are in the market for new bras."

"You need this French import," Minerva said, waving her wand. A rather large bra, two cups with a wispy connection in the middle, flew off of a bust on a shelf and into her hand. "Best support spells in the business. Ideal. Plus it helps support you for a little while after you take it off, which Arthur should like!" Minerva gave Molly a poke and wicked grin. "Got to like doing it to have as many children as we've had. Stay sexy for your man."

Molly nodded and grinned back at Minerva. This was a side of her mother Ginny was not used to seeing. "We'll go back to the private area to try on your fancy bras," said Molly.

Mother Minerva took the women to a room and closed the door. Ginny thought there must be hundreds of bras in the room, all in neat little boxes on little shelves. It kind of reminded her of Ollivander's but a lot neater. "Molly, you first," Minerva said, giving her a familiar poke. "With your husband head of the Office for Magical Law Enforcement and your daughter married off, you should finally be able to afford a good bra. Not those two Galleon ones you've been wearing until what support spells they have on them are as worn out as the material is."

"The nursing bra was more expensive than two Galleons," Molly shot back with.

"The least expensive nursing bra I had in your size," Minerva replied.

Minerva brought out a cotton bra in Molly's size, no straps or back. Molly took off her robe and tried on the bra. Ginny could tell from the way her mother moved and looked that she liked this bra. You could open it up to nurse too. "Twelve Galleons and cheap for the price," Minerva said. Molly nodded her head yes and her shoulders kind of drooped like she was saying, 'Yes, I'll take it, but I can't believe I'm spending this much money on myself.'

"You got that one for yourself, Molly," Minerva said. "Time to get one for Arthur." She brought out one that was all translucent lace, covered about 3/5ths of the breast, and gave Molly, if anything, a little more support and separation. It was sort of a longline, with something under the cups that tightened up the tummy as well. It really was pretty and sexy! "Twenty Galleons, Molly. The spells are pretty much the same, just the fabric is different."

"How do I nurse?" asked Molly looking at the bra, which covered a lot less of her bust than she was used to.

"Just pull back the top like this," Minerva said, as she showed Molly. Molly looked at the bra and Ginny could see a world of conflicting thoughts running through her head.

"Go ahead, Mum," Ginny said. "I know you've had to be so careful with money, and I'm not suggesting you go out and waste it, but you don't have any more children in school since Harry is paying for me, and no rent on the house. You have a little money. Besides, I'm sure dad will like it! Buy it for Dad!"

Molly put her robe back on and looked at herself, moving and looking from several angles. Her bust was more defined, and you noticed her stomach less. You could see Molly thinking.

"I'm sure Arthur will notice" Minerva said.

Molly got a crooked smile. "I'll take it, and I think I'll leave it on! I'll take it off for Arthur tonight."

All four women giggled. They were all sure Arthur was going to enjoy Molly tonight. They could tell that when Molly walked out, she felt very sexy.

Ginny bought four bras, from a very plain one to a couple of really fancy ones that she was going to need with a few of the blouses and dresses that she had bought the week before. She wore a new one home as well. Mother Minerva had something for Kim as well.

When Ginny got back to WWW there was a message from Harry asking her to meet him at 4:00 PM at the store. So she went home, put the new bras away and went back to WWW at 3:45 PM.

* * *

On the Monday after the honeymoon Harry went into work as usual.

Ginny's rant at the wedding was not in any of the papers, but of course anyone who knew anyone who knew Harry or Ginny had heard about it. Harry was constantly asked, "How was your wedding night?" or "How was she?" or "I heard Ginny was a real tigress on your wedding night" or some variation over the next couple of weeks. At first, Harry did not have any idea how to respond, but finally Professor McGonagall's comments at the wedding gave Harry a clue. From then on, when Harry was asked or kidded, he just said, with a straight face, "Ginny IS very quiet and shy, but she got used to it. We did alright." Harry followed that with a big disarming laugh and refused to say any more.

The next two weeks were going to be devoted to getting as much done on the Potter Estate problems as possible. Tuesday through Friday were going to be spent in some of the more distant and difficult countries, and Harry might have to get up early and get back late. Saturday and Sunday morning were free, but Sunday afternoon Harry and Bill were going to go to a couple of the Persian Gulf countries. They would not get back until sometime Tuesday, maybe late at night. Because of the schedule, Dan Williamson suggested that Harry get a couple of wizard phones. Besides, WWW had just opened a small office a few doors down from the Three Broomsticks, far enough away from the magic of Diagon Alley for mobile phones to work, to sell wizard mobiles. Since Ginny had been raised in a totally magical household, this would be a good way to see if the store could sell mobiles to wizards.

Harry went home, but Ginny was not there. He went to the New Burrow and Andromeda said, "Molly and Ginny and another woman went to Diagon Alley."

Harry went to WWW. Angelina said, "I saw Ginny and Mum not too long ago. Is it urgent or should I just give them a message?"

"Just tell Ginny to meet me here at four o'clock," Harry replied.

"Will do," Angelina agreed. Harry though that one was always better off having Angelina relay a message. He could never be quite sure what George would say.

Harry took the floo back to WWW at four o'clock to find Ginny waiting. "We are going to get mobiles to make it quick and easy to talk to each other when we are not close," said Harry.

"Can't we use the Floo?" asked Ginny.

"It's not so easy when I'm out of the country," Harry said. "Not every country has a Floo network. Some use magic carpets. All of the Floo networks are not connected either."

When they came into the store, the one man behind the counter said, "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Potter. I have your mobiles. They have magical pagers on the back that can send both text messages and notify you that someone wants to talk on the phone. You turn on the magical pager like this," showing a button and pushing it, "and then these icons come up. This is the phone icon and this is the text message icon. You need the magic pager part when you are in an area that is too magical. The muggle part of the mobile doesn't work at the Ministry or most of Diagon Alley and not in most wizards' houses either."

Harry understood what the man was saying, but Ginny was totally confused. How did that little blob mean anything? What was a text message?"

As the man explained more, Ginny got more and more confused. Harry could see her confusion, and they went back to the beginning and Harry tried to explain things in a simple way. But the confusion continued. Harry was slowly learning how to type and use a computer, and he was thinking of taking a laptop home to practice his typing. Ginny, in contrast, had never seen a keyboard being used, had never even seen someone talking on the phone, and when the mobile phone man brought up a virtual QWERTY keyboard, Ginny was beginning to get mad. "How can any muggle learn all this stuff? That is the stupidest arrangement of letters I have ever seen. Of course, it is a quirky keyboard. It makes absolutely no sense at all. There aren't even any keys on the keyboard. There are just those little boxes with letters."

Dan finally stepped in. "There is a simple wizard interface for the magic part of the mobile. Let me set it up." He did a few things to the screen on the wizard part of the mobile. It had messages, **talk to someone** and **send a written message.** From there a couple of simple screens got one to a directory. When it was set up this way, Ginny could call Harry, Kim or Dan Williamson and Jim or Sue Shook. Harry said he would add other names and numbers as she needed them. Harry left the building and went out of sight, and he and Ginny called each other a few times.

Kim then told Ginny and Harry that she and Dan would be rotated back to the US at the end of October and they would have a replacement couple. When asked why, Kim said, "They want us back in the US at least three months before the baby is due. I'm not due until mid-March, but it just seemed right to move back home." Harry and Ginny congratulated Dan and Kim.

"I'm not going to have my children grow up knowing nothing about the Muggle community," said Harry. "We're going to have electricity and television and computers at our house. We may get to most places by Floo, but I want my children to be comfortable in a car as well."

"Are you sure we can teach our children about all that?" asked Ginny. "It must be hard to learn all that!"

"Muggle children know most of it," Harry replied. "I think Hermione knows about computers and mobiles. She surely knows about electricity and cars."

"Maybe Hermione would know how tell me how to work this stupid thing," Ginny said, holding up her mobile phone and looking at it as though it had come from Mars rather than a store. They went back to WWW and asked George if he knew if Hermione was at the Hogsmeade store.

"No, she is downstairs trying to help us develop a particularly difficult potion."

At about this time, they heard Hermione call, "George, I need your help." Verity had gone home and Angelina had gone to see a midwife and was not back yet. George said, "Harry, tend the store, please," and hurried down stairs.

Harry went over to the cash register, touched it with his wand, and said, "Open a cash drawer for Harry James Potter, partner."

Ginny looked at Harry with questioning eyes. "Do you work here, Harry?"

Sheepishly he said, "I've helped tend the store a few times during the day when no one else can be here. George has explained all about how the store works, and he set me up as an employee."

Ginny asked, "They call employees partners?"

Harry replied, "Well, no. Only if you own part of the store are you a partner. Fred, George and I were the partners. We are talking about making Ron and maybe Lee Jordan partners."

Ginny put her hands on her hips, stared at Harry, and said, "How did you get to be a partner? Explain yourself, Mr. Potter."

"Excuse me, I need to sell some merchandise," Harry said, and he spent the next half hour taking money and explaining some of the products. Ginny also helped explain what some of the products were but did not take any cash. Finally, there was a break and Ginny went back to Harry and said, "Explain yourself, Harry. Why would you be a partner?"

Harry said, "I gave Fred and George my Triwizard Cup winnings to start the store. Then they needed to borrow money to expand and I co-signed a couple of big loans, and the goblins insisted that I become a partner. Please do not tell anyone else."

Ginny just shook her head and said, "You're just full of surprises, Harry."

George and Hermione finally came back upstairs, both smelling like something had gone wrong with the potion. Harry looked at Hermione and said, "You need the potions book from the Half-Blood Prince."

Hermione looked at Harry and said, "I wonder if there are any other textbooks with Severus's mother's notes."

Harry looked at her and said, "What about Snape's notes? I assume he had notes in textbooks too, and other potions information. What happened to all of that when Snape died?"

Hermione said, "Who could we ask, Harry?"

Harry replied, "Can you go over to Hogwarts and ask McGonagall? I will ask Kingsley. If you and Ron can come over for dinner after he closes up the shop tomorrow night, we can compare notes. I should have just enough time to ask Kingsley before Bill and I have to leave."

That night Harry wanted to go to bed early so that he could get up early and see Kingsley before he went with Bill. Harry and Ginny were intimate that night, but he was gone before she woke up in the morning. Ginny decided that she ought to read the book from her mother, and she spent a couple of eye opening hours looking at drawings and reading things she never imagined she would see or read. Her mind was boggling by the end of it and her body was tingling in anticipation of sharing some of the new things she'd learned with her new husband.

Harry was at the Ministry of Magic before 7:00 AM. Kingsley was there, and when Harry poked his head into the office, he said, "Come in, Harry. What brings you in to see me?"

"Hermione would like to look over Snape's books, if she could. What happened to all of Snape's possessions after he died?" Harry asked.

"When you say 'all' it covers a lot of ground, Harry," Kingsley said smiling. "Most of Snape's possessions, including all or almost all of his books and potion material, have been left to Hogwarts, and Minerva McGonagall is responsible for that."

"There is more?" Harry asked.

"It's hard to tell," Kingsley said. "The goblins took everything except magical identification off of the body and went through the apartments within a day of Snape's death. We are not sure what they took. It may take a while to finish the estate. Apparently some of the estate is going to be kept open for years, waiting for events to unfold. Goblins never let you know what they are waiting for."

"And you can trust them?" asked Harry.

"Usually," Kingsley said. "Snape and the goblins here would have set up things very carefully, and I am sure Shape's will is being followed to the letter."

"Hermione is just interested in the Potions parts of the library," Harry said.

"If she can write a better Potions text book than the ones we now have, then she should do it. She could make quite a lot of money from writing a text book, especially if it's picked up by the Hogwarts' Potions master and some of the schools in other countries," said Kingsley. "If she finds out anything of significance, she should tell the Ministry."

Harry had duties at the Wizengamot and with the estate but no travel out of the country. He got back home at about 8:00 PM. Ron and Hermione had arrived an hour before, and they had started dinner.

"We've mostly been talking about school, Harry," Ginny said as Harry arrived. "Hermione and I have mostly the same classes. She just has more classes; you know our Hermione."

"I wanted to wait until you were here before talking about Snape's estate," Hermione said. "No sense in repeating things. Well, most of the estate and books were left to Hogwarts. The house in Spinner's end needs to be cleaned out. Sidney and I are probably, oh, Sidney…

"Harry, there is a new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, and I think you are going to like him. You need to take a little time to get to know him. His name is Sidney Stanford, he's an American. He's in his mid-thirties, I'm pretty sure. He's about Ron's height, not quite as skinny, with just a touch of gray at the temples. Sidney told me he wants to settle down, maybe marry one of the good-looking English witches and eventually retire from Hogwarts. I told him this English witch was taken, but I was sure he could charm a lot of the females out there."

"Bloody good thing you told him you were taken," said Ron, a dark look on his face.

"Oh, I didn't want the school year to start out with a duel between the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher and the boyfriend and future husband of one of the students," Hermione said cheerily, holding on to Ron's hand and giving him a little kiss. "Besides, I know you're a good lover. I'm not looking forward to breaking in any more men."

They could see that Ron was not quite satisfied, but Hermione snogged him good, and Ron shut up. Harry and Ginny held each other and giggled at their best friends.

"As I was saying," Hermione went on, "Sidney and I are going to be going over Snape's books. Some of the Defense against the Dark Arts books may end up in the library and some in Sidney's office. There is a book case in the office that has special spells and locks on it. Actually, I think there is more in the office than you can see. Sidney gets the feeling that he is going to find a lot more in the office in a few years as he discovers what previous Defense against the Dark Arts teachers have hidden there, and not just in the last few years but the last several hundred years.

Slughorn is not all that interested in the Potions textbooks, so I am going to end up going through them. There is some other stuff. Professor McGonagall is really the one in charge, but she gave Sidney and me a lot of freedom when it came to deciding what to do with Snape's things."

Hermione went into a rather full discussion on what she and Sidney had found so far and the evening ran pretty late. Harry did not get to bed until well after midnight, and he had to get up at 5:00 AM for a long trip, so he begged off sex. Ginny could understand why, but she was not pleased.

Harry was up and gone on Wednesday when Ginny got up. She tried to keep herself busy. She did have some of the textbooks she was going to need for the upcoming school years, and she did read through one of them. She was getting bored, and so when her mobile rang, she was delighted. The mobile did not work inside Grimmauld place, but Ginny quickly stepped outside to answer the phone. It took a few moments for her to figure out which button to push, but she felt very proud of herself when she discovered the proper one. "Hello, Harry. How are you doing?"

"Oh Ginny, I've never seen anything like it! I never thought I'd see Kreacher so mad at a goblin that he was jumping up and down, pointing his finger at the goblin. It would be funny, if the atmosphere was not so tense."

"What is going on, Harry?"

"Well, apparently, I've inherited three companies. We went to the branch of Gringotts here and started to look at the records. There was almost no money. The records were in terrible shape. Eventually, under a lot of pressure, the goblins brought out another set of books. Things kept getting more and more complicated and, oh Ginny, I've never seen anything like it!"

"Just you and Bill and Kreacher?" Ginny asked.

"Oh no," Harry replied. "Michael Appledorn, no he's Appleleaf now, when Michael came over, he almost immediately asked for help from a couple of people who work for him, one in England and one who is stationed on the continent. Bill has another six people who work for him over here. Gringotts is actually headquartered in Switzerland, and they have over a dozen goblins and a couple of wizards over here, and the International Council of Witches and Wizards has a few wizards and witches over here. There are also some Aurors and some sort of Law Enforcement officer that have to do with the money. It's a madhouse."

"Oh Harry, what are they finding?"

"Well, like I said there are apparently three businesses, one mostly magic and two mostly muggle. They have been badly managed, at least. But it seems that everybody has been cheating everybody else. No one, not the local government, the local branch of Gringotts, the managers of the companies, have come out looking good."

"Do they need you there?" Ginny asked.

"Oh yes, because as the owner, the person who inherited this, I can get through any curse, anything designed to keep us from finding out the truth. And between me and Kreacher it is hard for the wizards and goblins to lie," Harry said.

"I didn't think goblins could lie to each other and that they always had to be honest to wizards," Ginny said.

"It's apparently a lot more complicated that," said Harry. "Oh, I have to go. I may be back very late tonight."

Harry and Kreacher finally got back to Grimmauld Place at one in the morning. Ginny could not sleep, so she was waiting for Harry, and she greeted him with, "Are you done?"

"Not even close, love," Harry said. "Bill canceled our appointments for tomorrow and we're going back. I'm supposed to be back, leaving here at eight. They left a few Aurors guarding things. A few of the people are sleeping over there, and I don't know all that's going on."

Harry and Ginny went upstairs. Ginny could see how tense Harry was and suggested, "You need a shower. I want to wash your back and give you a back rub."

"Sounds fantastic," a tired Harry said. Ginny got Harry washed and into bed. It took a lot of work to keep him awake, but they did make love before Harry fell asleep.

Harry usually got up early, but at seven fifteen both were still sleeping. Ginny heard a knocking on their bedroom door. "Master Harry needs to wake up. Needs to leave by eight o'clock," Kreacher said.

"I'll wake him up," Ginny said. She noticed that Harry was still sound asleep and that the charms had kept the blankets on. Ginny went to the loo and then woke up Harry. "Harry, Harry, you need to get up. We hardly have time for breakfast together."

Harry woke up with a start. He went to the loo and hurriedly got dressed. When Harry and Ginny got down to the kitchen, Kreacher had breakfast on.

"Thank you, Kreacher, for all your help in getting this mess straightened out," Harry said.

"Is Master Harry's money," Kreacher said. "Is Kreacher's job."

"I know it's a hard job for you," Harry said.

Kreacher had a furious look on his face, that almost reminded him of the old Black house elf, but it wasn't directed at him. "When house-elves lie to a house-elf is bad," Kreacher grumbled. "Everybody lies to everybody, everybody cheats everybody. Goblins is going to lose jobses, they is. Is going to be in much troubles. House-elves is in troubles too. Master William says wizards lucky not to end up in prison, much worse prison than Azkaban is now."

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree to make an example of some of the wizards," said Harry. "The goblins can take care of their own. I have no idea what to do with the house-elves."

"House-elves will be all right with good masters," said Kreacher.

Right at eight o'clock, Harry and Kreacher left the Floo from the Ministry.

Harry and Kreacher got to the office at the little Gringotts branch where most of the meetings were taking place at about nine in the morning. Bill and a very short man were doing most of the talking, asking questions of various people. Harry had seen the man yesterday, but most of the day he was out, just coming in to talk to Bill and Michael and the rest of the staff from time to time. Harry took a good look at the man. He was dressed all in black, wearing what looked like an old fashion suit. He was no taller than Harry, and although he was thicker in the middle, he was not fat. There was an old-fashioned hat close by that Harry had seen on him yesterday, but today all he could see was thin black hair. He had a pencil thin mustache. If someone told him that he was in the Mafia, or a spy or a cold blooded killer, it would be easy to believe it.

Standing next to him was the tallest woman Harry had ever seen, the tallest non giant anyways. She had legs that seemed to go on forever, large shapely hips, and bust that, since it was in proportion, was big just because she was so big. She was wearing a tight fitting purple dress and had plenty of jewelry on her hands and around her neck.

Bill turned to Harry and said, "Harry, I want to introduce you to my specialists in Eastern Europe and the Slavic countries, Boris and Natasha. They work for you. This has to be their biggest challenge yet."

"Good mornink, Harry," Boris said, in what charitably could be called a bad Russian accent.

"Dollink," Natasha said in the same terrible accent, "we are goink to visit your companies." As they turned away, Boris was talking to someone in their native language.

Harry followed Natasha outside. "Ve go in my car," Natasha said, pointing to the longest, widest, lowest, reddest convertible Harry had ever seen. It had what looked like airplane fins sticking way up on the back. Harry did a double take looking at the car. Natasha twirled her wand and the car started up, a low rumble coming from under the bonnet. Natasha waved her wand again and the bonnet came up, revealing a huge engine going rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble. "Not super-charged, magic charged," Natasha said as she waved her wand again and the engine went ROAR, ROAR, ROAR, ROAR, as it vibrated like it was going to shake loose from its mounts. Natasha waved and the engine settled back into its low roar. "Ve can go hundreds of kilometers without engine on, with magic, but this is more fun, dollink.

Nineteen Fifty Nine Cadillac Eldorado convertible," Natasha said. "Twenty three coats of Candy Apple Red paint, put on by the same witch that painted Snow White's apple." Natasha winked. "White Leather interior you can only keep clean with magic." They got into the car. "Seat belts," Natasha said, and as if by magic, a full racing style five point seat belt was fastened onto both of them and Jim Shook, who was in the back seat.

Harry could tell that the car was magical. The roads were some of the worst he had ever been on, but the car drove like the wheels never touched the ground. Natasha drove fast but not fanatically fast; it was nothing like the Knight Bus. They finally arrived at what appeared to be a moderately-sized farm. Natasha did something and the convertible top went up. She pulled out three portfolios and opened one. "Time to inspect your first company, Harry," Natasha said in what to Harry sounded like an American Voice.

Jim Shook had accompanied Harry the whole trip and was sitting in the back seat shaking his head, stifling a laugh.

"Who are you?" asked Harry of the woman.

"My name is Natasha Fatale, and I grew up in San Diego, California," Natasha tossed off in a casual way and same American accent. "Boris Badenov grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. We met at the Los Angeles School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and even then, people were calling us Boris and Natasha. We went to the San Francisco College of Witchcraft and Wizardry, then went on to additional studies in finance and Slavic languages. Bill hired us to handle some of the more poorly managed of the companies you inherited."

Harry still had a very uncertain look on his face. "The act keeps people on edge, and when you are dealing with some of the idiots we have been dealing with, it helps, dollink," Natasha said, tapping him on the arm and giving him a wink. "The first business is basically a farm, what we would call in the U.S. a truck farm. The biggest problem is that the manager was spending far more time trying to cheat people than farm, and the second problem is that the rest of the people were not very good farmers. One of the three employee couples wants to be a good farmer, as do the house-elves, but the institution is so messed up, it is going to take some time to turn it around. The current turnover is only about 200,000 Galleons, but with a little work, it should bring in a million or so, and even after paying good wages, make you money."

Natasha got out of the car as Natasha Fatale and showed Harry around the property, introducing him to all of the people and house-elves too. Harry did what he had done before- talk politely, try to learn and back up Natasha, who obviously knew more than Harry did.

After a delicious lunch of farm fresh food, they went to the next small business, a woodworking and wood carving business. Again Natasha explained the basics of the business and how with a different business model, they could make good money for more of the people of the area, magical and muggle. "Good wood for wands but also for magical devices and furniture," Natasha explained once they were safely settled in the car again. "Good jobs for muggles and magical people."

The last visit was to a large lumbering concern. Although it sold plenty of lumber to the muggle market and used lots of muggle equipment, lorries and bulldozers and the like, it also used a fair amount of magic in picking the trees to harvest and getting them over somewhat inaccessible terrain to the sawmill. "If done right, the yields on the harvest can be magical as well," Natasha said, indicating that the few really modern magical lumber mills used muggle and magical technology to get really fantastic yields of high grade lumber. "We have some new help coming in for this firm," Natasha said. "None of the managers is going to be managing this place in two months.

Harry was trying to figure out how he was going to tell Ginny about all this. In the first place, Harry was so short and Natasha was so big that Harry was mostly staring at her bust, something that was distracting at the least. Not that her hips were bad. Not that Harry was tempted, but Ginny could be jealous. Plus, the business dealings were things that, from the little he had talked to Ginny about them, she really did not understand or care to understand.

Maybe he could talk about the car.

They were back at the bank, and Natasha said to Harry and Jim, "The back seat turns into a bed." She waved her wand, and instead of a huge back seat, there was an enormous bed. "Nothing like making love under the stars in the back of your car!" she said with a wicked grin. "Harry, I'll loan you the car sometime so you and your wife can go out to some hilltop or go to a pond and skinny dip and finish up in the back seat."

Harry thought that maybe talking about the car could get awkward. Then again, Ginny was reasonably adventurous sexually. Well, looking at Natasha, maybe talking about her and the car would be very awkward. Ginny was either going to really like Natasha or really hate her.

When they went inside, Bill said, "It looks like we are going to be done here tonight. Call Ginny and tell her we will be back sometime tonight. It may be late. Fleur and I need mobiles. I'll have someone here call our office."

Harry called Ginny and after she said, "Hello," answered, "We should be back tonight, maybe late, but we don't have to come back tomorrow. We have a good couple over here watching after the investments."

"Was today any better than yesterday?" Ginny asked.

"Oh yes, not so much yelling and I met the people who work at these businesses. Most of them seem nice enough," Harry answered.

"Miss you, Harry," Ginny said. "I'm talking to Mum."

"That's good, Ginny. It will be good to see everybody Sunday."

"Love you Harry."

"Love you too, Ginny. Bye."

* * *

By the middle of Thursday, Ginny was getting lonely and went over to The New Burrow to talk to her mother.

Ginny said, "Mum, I guess it was different when we were all together and working so hard to get the house ready. I've just always been around people, and I'm lonely with Harry gone."

"It was only you and me when Ron left for school," Molly reminded her.

"I was a little lonely then too," Ginny said. "I even missed fighting with Ron. How was it with all of us away at school?"

"I had my own issues with no one being home," Molly said. "I love a full house. I'm not saying that I am glad I have to take care of Teddy, and Andromeda can be a real problem sometimes, but in some ways it is better than not having someone I have to take care of. Lots of mothers are happy when all their children are gone and I'm glad I have something else to do. I know how you feel. That's why I'm so happy that I'm helping Rosemary home school the children."

"I guess I can get used to being alone, but I miss Harry!" Ginny said. "It's hard when he leaves so early in the morning and is back so late at night. I'm just used to seeing him every day, really talking and, well, and the physical part, the touching."

"The talking really is more important, Ginny dear," Molly said. "Is that muggle gadget helping?"

"Sort of," Ginny said. "At least we talked a little while yesterday afternoon. Maybe he'll call again this afternoon. He is so frustrated! 'Everybody is cheating everybody,' Harry said. He said Kreacher was so mad he was 'jumping up and down pointing his finger at a goblin.'"

"Oh my!" a horrified Molly said. "Is it really that bad?"

"I don't know," said Ginny. "I don't know anything about business, not like Bill and Fleur. Harry seems to be learning. In all honesty, I'd rather play Quidditch."

"You are going to have to get used to being apart some," Molly said. "That little muggle thing, if it allows you to keep talking even when you are apart, is a good thing. Talking is really important. Communicating. If you go a couple of weeks without a good, satisfying talk, then maybe you have a problem. After all, once you get back to Hogwarts, you will have times when you are too busy for him."

Ginny did spend some time with Teddy. He wasn't all that mobile yet. But he was an active baby, and he loved Ginny's attention. No words but lots of babbling, and it was fun to baby talk with him.

Teddy was starting to crawl. He wasn't very good at it, but between crawling, rolling over and just wiggling, they couldn't leave him anywhere and count on him being in the same place a couple of minutes later. Ginny ended up spending quite a bit of time on the floor with Teddy, playing with him. In some ways, the hardest thing was when he was hungry, and Molly fed him instead of Ginny. She was continuing to be conflicted, being glad she was free of being tied to Teddy but missing him. Ginny ended up staying for dinner and promised her mother that she would be back to help with Teddy on Friday after Harry had left for work.

* * *

On Friday, Harry was in the office, coming in at 7:00 AM but leaving at 5:00 PM. About half of his time was spent on Wizengamot business. The only noticeable thing that happened on Friday was that Michael and Bill finally realized that Harry had co-signed some large loans, 50,000 Galleons each. Harry had to tell them they were for WWW. It was clear from the documents that the goblins had insisted that Harry get a third of WWW, if he was going to co-sign such large loans. Now that Fred was gone, Harry owned 49% and George owned 51% of WWW.

Harry sent Ginny a brief text message at 4:30, which said, "Home by 5:00 PM. Want to go out?" Ginny still had no idea how to send a text message, so she waited. When Harry got back and talked to Ginny about the phone, he realized that in all the discussion about Snape and Potions, he had forgotten all about asking Hermione to help Ginny with the phone and help to write simple instructions for witches and wizards with no knowledge of the muggle world how to use a "magic/muggle cell phone." Ginny had tried to read the instructions, but the instructions all assumed that one knew a lot more than she did. The only thing she could think to ask Harry about was that there was a reference to a computer mouse in the instructions, and could she use a rat like Scabbers instead of a mouse.

They went out to dinner, and then Harry tried to make up to Ginny for being gone for so much of the week.


	18. Ch 18, George's wedding Ron & Hermione

Almost Happily Ever After

Ch 18 George and Angelina's wedding, Ron and Hermione's first time.

"_The big hypocrite!" Ginny interjected, thinking, 'they are sleeping together.' The birth control potion was not proof, just a good guess._

"_Well, Ron does have something of a double standard," Hermione replied, "especially where his sister is concerned."_

Warning, Hermione is pretty explicit about her and Ron's first time. If you're not old enough, you should not be reading this.

* * *

Saturday August 23rd was the wedding of George Weasley and Angelina Johnson. It was going to be a small and simple wedding, with George not getting to the New Burrow until about 1:00 in the afternoon. The business had suffered when it was closed during the war. Since it was so close to the time students left for Hogwarts, George did not dare close the store. Verity, Lee Jordan, and a couple of other trusted employees were going to keep the store open during the wedding and George and Angelina were going to open the store on Sunday as usual. From the Weasley family, only the people who normally attended the Sunday breakfasts were there. The Appleleaf family made themselves scarce by going to their house, which was almost finished.

Angelina's family was small. She was the youngest. Neither her older brother nor sister was married, although her brother brought a date and they hoped he that was getting serious since she seemed like a very nice witch. The Johnson parents and grandparents and great-grandparents were there. Her great-grandfather was fairly light skinned and had moved to Britain from the U.S. almost a century ago. He had married an African from one of the British colonies, as had his son and grandson, so all of the current generation of Johnson children were about as black as they could be. All of the wives' families were still in Africa, and the Johnson family seemed to be involved in trade with many of them. The family was as pureblood as it was possible to be in the Wizarding community, and the son was upset because his girlfriend's family had a hard time accepting him. They were mostly (3/4) pureblood. He could prove that even on the American side, he was well over 90% pureblood.

Angelina's brother complained to Harry, "If all they cared about was Muggle blood on the African side of the family, we can't find a Muggle ancestor, and the magical community in Africa has records going back 4,000 years. I think it's because we're black and not white, although no one has the courage to say anything."

Uncle Vernon was an out and out racist. One of the things Harry liked best about the Magical community was the apparent absence of racial prejudice. If Ginny was clueless about muggle technology, she was also clueless about racial prejudice, and Harry had to explain to her why someone could be upset about Angelina's brother because of skin color. Harry looked in amazement at the Weasley family. Fleur was about as light skinned as could be, with long straight hair that was a beautiful light blond, Angelina was as black as possible, with a very short cropped head of the blackest, curliest hair. She was taller than George, almost as tall as Ron who at 6' was the tallest in the family. Fleur was as delicate and small boned as they come, although no where near as short as Ginny. Angelina looked formidable, big boned, with big hips but then more straight up and down (although she was getting bustier since getting pregnant). It was not just Ginny. None of the Weasley family had ever encountered prejudice because of skin color, just prejudice because of a muggle background.

The wedding was short and simple, the only concession in dress to it being a wedding was the tiara perched on Angelina's head. Aunt Muriel had, of course, insisted that she be allowed to come over to put the tiara on Angelina and perform the spell that held it on before the wedding. Mercifully, she left shortly afterwards.

The families traded names and addresses and promised to keep in touch. All of the Johnsons thanked Harry for what he had done. But then they thanked Ron, Hermione and Ginny as well, so that Harry did not feel singled out, which was the nicest thing they could have done for him. Before they left, Angelina's father sought out Harry and said, "We are import and export agents, dealing mostly in magical commodities. George's products are in demand around the world. Thank you for being his silent partner!"

By 5:00 PM, George and Angelina had left to go back to the store and work until the shop closed.

Harry thought that they had better meet with Griffin and Grunt on Sunday afternoon, and they agreed to have lunch at Grimmauld place at noon. Harry talked a little about what he wanted to do. "I'd like the place wired for electricity and the internet," Harry said. "I know you can put in magical and gas lighting, but I would like good electric lighting. I know I want a television."

"We looked at some of the other houses on the block," Ginny said. "Some of them have bigger windows, and one even seems to have a skylight. I want a bright and airy house!"

After lunch, Grover Grunt and Grindywald Griffin went over the house almost inch by inch. Griffin did most of the writing. He had a set of house plans and was making notations on them. Grunt used mostly his wand, but he had some muggle tools and some magical ones as well.

When they were done, Griffin suggested meeting in the drawing room. "Structurally, the house is sound, but it's all settled. That's a problem. Plus, if we are going to put in electricity and communication wiring we have to get behind the walls, and when walls are this old, sometimes when you open one up, there is no telling what kind of a mess you are going to find behind it. We know, from our investigation, that there is some mold. That's a muggle problem not a magical one and removing it is going to require removing the places that are moldy. Plus, this place is full of curses! You're not going to be happy here unless we remove all the curses."

"How much time are we talking about?" asked Harry.

"Two full weeks to have the curse breakers go over the house, another couple of weeks to demolish the inside of the house and still another week to finish the work of the curse breakers," Griffin said. "We can get rid of that accursed painting too, not by magic but by physically removing the wall in little pieces." They pointed out where they could enlarge many windows and put in a magical skylight to bring light into the kitchen. Ginny agreed at once to the suggested changes.

"Once we have the major structural work done, then we can begin to install wiring for the Internet and electricity, gas lines for gas lights and other components. You need insulation, and then in front of the wiring, you need a special magical barrier sheet to keep a group of magicians, even a couple who are leaking a lot of magical energy, from messing up the electricity. When that's done, we need to put up the walls and finish the interior. All of this has to be done in the middle of the city on a building that, as far as muggles are concerned, does not exist. It's not easy," Griffin concluded.

Grover Grunt jumped in with, "It's a lot of work, but this property is magical. There have been magical people in this area for a very long time, and even in walking around the block, I can feel the magic. How much time are you two going to have to work on the interior once we get the house roughed in?"

"I'm just going to be in Auror training," Harry said.

"Plus working on the estate issues, plus you're on the Wizengamot, Harry," Ginny popped in with. "I'm just going to be trying to finish my last year at Hogwarts."

Griffin and Grunt could not promise that the house would be ready for Christmas, especially if Ginny was busy at school and Harry was as busy as it was looking like he was going to be.

Late Sunday afternoon, Bill and Harry had to leave for the mid-east. Ginny went back to the New Burrow, and she and Fleur stayed late talking with Molly. Ginny did get a message for a phone call from Harry. She walked out of the wards at the New Burrow, and then with Fleur and Molly and Arthur watching, placed the call. After she talked to Harry, she let Fleur talk to Bill. And then first Molly and then Arthur talked to both Bill and Harry.

Fleur said, "Beel ez talking about getting mobiles for us. Ezpenseve. Beel tell me 'arry Potter Estate weel pay. Beel says 'ee needs for estate, and I work for estate."

"How much do these cost?" asked Molly.

"I heard them say something about twenty five Galleons at the store," Ginny volunteered.

Arthur said, "The closest thing the magical world has is mirrors, but they have to be set up to work with each other. Harry and Sirius had a pair. You can have mirror sets that are more than two mirrors, but just because you have one does not mean that you can talk to any mirror. And they are expensive, and they break easily. I saw some small ones, a pair for fewer than five hundred Galleons each, but that was a special price."

"The mobiles are even more expensive, and you have to pay something each month. Dan Williamson said that muggle cell phones are getting less and less expensive, but there are so few cell phones in our world that it will take a while to get the cost down. Dan also said that, despite the cost, hundreds of them are being sold every month in North America and China, and they are spreading in the rest of the world.

"The phones that Harry and Ginny bought cost one thousand Galleons each, plus twenty five Galleons each month."

Everybody in the room looked shocked when Arthur mentioned the cost of the phones.

When the girls went to bed, Molly figured that the first year of having two phones would be 2,600 Galleons, over a third of Arthur's salary of 7,500 Galleons a year. She still could not really understand how much money Harry had at his disposal. There was no way Molly wanted to spend that much money.

* * *

Ginny sent Hermione, Hanna and Luna owls to see when they could go shopping for school supplies. It was finally agreed that they would meet on Monday the 24th. Mrs. Hanna Abbott Longbottom had decided to go back to school and see if she could survive at school after the baby was born. Always before, Ginny went to get school supplies with her parents, and they bought the supplies. Now she had her own money, well it came from Harry, but one thing she did know was that there was almost nothing that she wanted that she could not buy. In every way that it counted, once one was a married woman, she was an adult.

Harry went off to work this morning and he was still the same Mr. Harry Potter that he had been last week, and the week before, all his life. She was Mrs. Ginny Potter not Miss Ginny Weasley. She could have kept her last name the same, but it didn't make sense. Her mum was a Prewett, but mum, dad, and children should all have the same last name. And she wanted children, not right now, but someday. Besides, she had dreamed of marrying Harry, and not becoming Mrs. Potter didn't make sense. Nursing Teddy convinced her that she was not ready to be a full time mother, but she really missed Teddy and missed having a child on her breast. How could you feel two opposite things at the same time?

What would it be like being Mrs. Potter at Hogwarts? What was it going to be like living a very different life than Harry, she a student, she maybe a Quidditch player, Harry an Auror, sleeping together but usually living different lives. Her dad went to work, her mum stayed home. They were very different people, but it was hard to imagine them not together. Were she and Harry going to get there? Well, it was time to take the Floo to WWW to meet Hermione and Hanna.

Shopping was not a lot different, except that Ginny never had to ask her mother if she could buy something, which was quite nice, in and of itself. Having lunch with Hanna, Hermione and Luna was also not a lot different. Three of them were intimate with their partners, so even though Hermione was not married, they all had that in common. Luna was intently interested in anything to do with couples and marriage, although occasionally Ginny thought that despite having a lot of book knowledge sometimes Luna completely missed the point.

Most of the lunch, which lasted a couple of hours, was spent in talking about the next year at Hogwarts. Since Hermione had been made Head Girl, she was going to be in a single room. But at the same time, there would be many more nights when she had to be at Hogwarts than ones that she could spend at the flat above the store. Ron could, however, take the Floo to her room. Hermione had gotten permission for her room to be connected to the apartment above the Hogsmeade Store. She doubted that this would have been allowed except for the fact that they'd helped Harry so much in his defeat of Tom Riddle.

Toward the end of the lunch, Ginny noticed a vial of birth control potions that Hermione had taken out of her purse. So she asked Hermione, "When did you start sleeping with my brother?"

Hermione answered, "Just a week ago Sunday night. Maybe that's why Ron was so interested in the first time. We were getting closer to it."

"The big hypocrite!" Ginny interjected, thinking 'they are sleeping together.' The birth control potion was not proof, just a good guess.

"Well, Ron does have something of a double standard," Hermione replied, "especially where his sister is concerned."

Ginny, Hanna and Luna waited for Hermione to continue.

"Ron must like me a lot. He keeps telling me how beautiful I am and how lucky he is. He is very endearing when he does not have his foot in his mouth. And he is cute when he stumbles over his words and cannot get out what he wants to say." Ginny and Hanna nodded in agreement about Ron's tendency to stumble over what he wanted to say.

Hermione continued, "We moved into the flat over the Hogsmeade store, each in a separate bedroom, but we spent enough time in one of the beds snogging."

Hermione got a huge grin on her face. From the way she paused and the faces she made, Ginny guessed that they had been doing a little more than some innocent snogging.

Hermione gathered her thoughts and continued, "At the end of July, when I got back from Australia, I got some contraceptive potion, and after my period I started taking it. By the 15th, I thought that it was silly that I was taking the potion and had really made up my mind to take our relationship the next step but had not done anything about it. Ron feels bad that he does not have enough money for an engagement ring and does not want a formal engagement until I am wearing his ring. But he wants to marry me, and I want to marry him.

Well, Sunday, a week ago, was the last straw. I didn't think that, if given a chance, Ron would say 'lets just stay virgins for a few more years, or months, or days.' So I told him that I missed sleeping in the same room with him, like we did when we were at Hogwarts those last two weeks. When he said that he missed that too, getting a little red in the face and embarrassed in the process, I suggested that I could move my stuff into his bedroom, if it was all right with him. He stammered and, … I love it when Ron gets all flustered. He surely was flustered, but he said that whatever I wanted to do was fine with him.

I went into the bedroom, turned the two beds into a nice large bed and moved my stuff into the room. Ron was working in the store, and I made a quick dinner and we ate in the store where we could watch for customers. A little before closing time, I told Ron that I would be up in the bedroom reading. I put on the sexiest nightgown I had, but it was still a conservative cotton one, so I transfigured it into a really sheer silk nightgown."

Hermione paused. "It's a lot easier transforming cotton into silk than into nylon. Silk is a natural fiber, and nylon is an artificial material, like a plastic. Magic works with plastics but it's different. I was going to make the nightgown sheer nylon, but it wasn't so easy. Well, I had other things on my mind." Hermione sort of grinned at the girls, and Ginny and Hanna shook their heads, smiling at each other knowingly. Only Hermione, or maybe Luna, would go into an explanation of magic while describing her first night of passion. "As I was saying, I transfigured the nightgown into a really transparent one. What was covered you could still see, and then after I had put the knickers on, I decided that I really did not need them on either, so I took them off. I just sort of needed the night gown top on to keep me a little warm.

You should have seen Ron's face when he walked into the bedroom!"

"I can imagine," said Ginny, giggling. "What did he say?"

"He was stammering pretty badly," said Hermione, a big smile on her face. "He said something like, 'Are you? Are we? Oh my!' So I told him we did not have to do anything, but if he wanted to go further, I was ready. 'I've taken a contraceptive potion, Ron.' Then I said, 'Take a shower and come to bed with me.' He asked, 'What do I wear?' and I said, 'I don't see why you need to wear anything. I'd rather have you keep me warm than this nightgown.' So he took the fastest shower in history, and when he came back into the bedroom with nothing on, I could tell that he had been thinking about what was coming next. Men are so transparent, and he was ready. So I took off my nightgown and told him to kiss me and take his time, and we would figure this out. And we did."

Luna asked in astonishment, "How did you know Ron was all ready? How can you tell?"

Hermione, Ginny and Hanna all looked at each other, started to giggle and got redder and redder. Finally Hermione whispered something to Luna.

Luna pondered what Hermione said, sort of looked around at some of the males in the room, and finally responded, "It does? Oh, that's interesting. It will probably be a useful thing to know."

Quickly changing the subject, Ginny asked Hermione ,"So how was your first time?" As horrified as she was to know the details of her brother's sex-life, she was also intensely curious. Besides, Hermione was one of her best friends. She wanted to be able to share things with her.

Hermione said, "Well, physically I was a virgin. It hurt and bled and Ron panicked and was worried that he had damaged me. Well, it did hurt and was a little messy, but I knew it might happen and talked Ron into doing it again later that night, and we got better. Like anything else, it takes practice, but we've spent some of the last week practicing when we could."

"I was so naïve," said Ginny. "I thought that all I had to do was get us both naked and everything would happen. Well, I got Harry excited enough, but he was done long before I was ready to be finished, and it was my fault. We just had to practice a lot. It got much better!"

"You had to practice a lot!" said Hermione grinning.

"Well, of course!" said Ginny, also with a big grin on her face.

Luna turned to Hanna and asked, "Did you have to practice a lot too? Is it that hard to do?"

"It's not that hard to do, but it is a lot of fun, Luna," Hanna said. "Once you have found the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, I expect you will do it quite regularly."

"That's more useful information," a smiling Luna said, seeming to file these little tidbits into her mind. "I always like getting useful information."

"I need one thing from you, Ginny," Hermione said sort of embarrassed. "The spell for the blankets?"

Ginny rolled her eyes, sort of slapped her head and nodded an affirmative.

The three girls turned to Hanna.

"I think we want to hear your story too," a serious Luna said. Ginny and Hermione grinned in encouragement.

Hanna took a deep breath and said, "I'm used to sleeping with just a nightgown on. Well, when I took the Floo to the Room of Requirement, I had to wait for an all clear to leave, and sometimes that would take a while. One night, we got a message that I might as well sleep, it could be all night. Neville had just his boxers on. I stripped down to my knickers and bra, but then I could not get comfortable with the bra on, so I took it off, and then," Hanna sighed. "Well, I guess we got a little too comfortable. We had been snogging and had even talked about maybe getting married, if we both survived. And all of a sudden we went too far. And then I got hurt during the Battle, not badly, but when the healer examined me, she asked when my last period was and I was a couple of weeks late. She told me I was pregnant."

"What did Neville do when he found out?" asked Hermione.

"Knelt down on one knee and asked me to marry him and be the mother of his children."

"Neville always a gentleman," Ginny replied.

"Well, it was a little late to say no, at least to the part about being a mother. I'm not really all that upset. I'm still working some at the Leaky Cauldron, and there are plenty of other witches who are jealous that I married a big war hero. Plus I really like Neville. He is such a good person."

A grinning Ginny asked, "Neville doesn't steal the blankets?"

Hanna looked ashamed. "Well, really, you see, it's me! Maybe I ought to have the spell too, because sometimes we wake up, and I have all the blankets."

Ginny laughed and then taught the two girls with partners the spell to keep their partners from stealing all the blankets.

* * *

On Saturday the 29th, Harry and Ginny moved all that they could to Hogwarts and tried to get their apartments ready. Even with shrinking things, they had to take four trips. They were glad that they had a fireplace in their room connected to the Floo network.

"The fireplace is only going to be connected to the New Burrow after today," Harry said. "As soon as Grimmauld place is secure, it is going to be connected to it as well but nowhere else."

They were getting ready to start putting clothes away when Ginny said, "We need to try out the bed, Harry."

She flopped down on the bed and held out her arms. Harry paused only a moment and then joined Ginny in the bed. They snogged passionately for a while, and then came up for air. It was early in the afternoon, everything was put away except for the clothes and there was nothing on their schedule. Ginny got a wicked grin on her face and pulled out the book. "Use the spell for endurance, Harry. We haven't really tried out the bed enough."

Harry could not believe how beautiful she was. Ginny grinned and put her arms around Harry, pulling him into her. She backed up and looked at the bra. "Muggle bras have elastic around the back," Ginny said, turning around to show Harry that her back was bare. "Most of them have straps too. They probably do not come off quite as easily as magical ones do." Ginny demonstrated by quickly taking off the thin garment that was a magical bra. She then dropped her knickers and pulled Harry into her again.

Afterwards, as they lay naked holding on to each other Harry thought, "Maybe I'm the luckiest guy in the world.' Just holding onto Ginny, her sexy body next to him, after they had made love, was unbelievably pleasurable. Something about the sexual urges having been satisfied, not having to get ready to do anything, but still having that curvy soft female body next to his was just so pleasurable. "I love you," said Harry gently.

"I know," said an obviously tired Ginny groggily.

"This feels so good," Harry murmured.

"Mmmmm," Ginny purred.

Harry did not say anything else and very quickly he could feel the regular breathing that indicated that Ginny was sound asleep. He kept holding her for some minutes, just drinking in the closeness, before slipping into a sound sleep himself.

They spent the night at their bed in Hogwarts. By nine o'clock Sunday Morning the entire family was at the New Burrow.

"Ginny and I don't need to take anything with us when we catch the Hogwarts Express," Hermione said. "We really don't need to take the train, but we want to. It's like taking the train is part of the ritual in going to school. My parents are going to pick us up here, Luna too, and Hannah."

"I have to tend the Hogsmeade store," Ron grumbled. "There are always people buying things at the last minute at both stores, even after the train has left."

"Auror training always starts September 2nd, or the first weekday after September 1st, so people in the Auror Department who have children going to Hogwarts can put them on the train," Arthur volunteered. "The Department of Magical Law Enforcement wants Harry and Neville plus your Auror guards on the train. We don't have any firm leads about the two girls who are missing, but we are getting a couple of disturbing rumors."

"Are all of you going to eat in the Great Hall?" asked Molly, changing the subject.

Harry replied, "Even after Auror training starts, I'm going to try to eat breakfast and dinner in the Great Hall. We may have to get up early to get breakfast, though."

"I'm going to go from Auror training right to the store," Ron said. "There is a note on the door that the store is going to be open most evenings and weekends and any other time by appointment."

"When are you going to see Hermione?" asked Angelina.

"That's a little bit of a problem", Hermione said. "Being head girl, I have to stay at the school. Ron can visit, but only for a little while. Actually, it's easier for him to come for breakfast and then leave for Auror training."

"You can't go to Hermione's room after work?" asked Angelina.

Ron and Hermione both had awkward expressions on their face. Finally, Ron said, "I'm going to try to see Hermione some evenings, but I expect most evenings I'm going to be sleeping at the store and Hermione's going to be at Hogwarts."

On Sunday afternoon, they moved a few personal possessions to the New Burrow. Any furniture that they were going to keep was going to be put in storage by Griffin and Grunt.

As they were going to bed Sunday night, Ginny said, "This is the first night we are going to have sex in my parents house. It feels strange. Does it feel strange to you?"

"We're married. What is strange?" said Harry.

Ginny replied, "Oh, I don't know. Thinking that my parents know we are having sex in their house and even approve. What if we have a daughter? How are you going to feel about some boy having sex with your/our daughter?"

"After she is old enough and she is married, or before?" asked Harry. "If we are lucky enough to have grown up children, I would hope they would find somebody as wonderful as you are and marry and have sex Happily Ever After."

Ginny said, "Yes, and have someone give them a book like the one we got from my mother ubefore/u they get married, so that they do not have a first time like ours. We got better in a hurry, but it still took lots of practice.

"It's not like we are in my old bed at the old Burrow. But it's still my parents' house, and it still feels strange." Feeling strange did not keep Ginny from becoming intimate with HER Harry, morning or night, however.


	19. Ch 19 Fall at Hogwarts & the start of Au

Almost Happily Ever After

HP Ch 19 Fall at Hogwarts & the start of Auror Training

"I don't have any authority to do this" Harry replied just as Al and Kingsley walked in the room.

* * *

On Tuesday Sept 1, 1998 Hanna and Neville, Hermione and Luna met Harry and Ginny at the New Burrow, where they were picked up by a Ministry minibus. Both Auror couples went along. It had been decided that they were safer going in a ministry vehicle instead of having Hermione's parents drive any of them. They were put on the train 45 minutes before it was scheduled to leave, in a compartment up front next to the Prefects area. Hermione was appointed Head Girl, and she, the Head Boy and the prefects had some duties supervising the train, and helping settle new students.

As the train was filling up students kept asking Hermione if she would sign their Chocolate Frog cards, and a lot of them asked where Harry and Ginny were. So they had a steady stream of visitors asking her to sign their cards, both Ginny Weasley cards and Ginny Potter cards. Some of them, when they realized that Hanna was married to Neville, wanted Hanna to sign the Neville Longbottom card too, something totally unexpected to Hanna.

"Have you ever had anyone ask for your autograph, or look at you like you were some sort of celebrity?" asked Hanna of Ginny when Harry was out talking to one of the Aurors.

"No, I don't think so" Ginny mused, pondering the question. "I know Harry has had people looking at him since he started at Hogwarts. He isn't very fond of it. I'm not sure I like it either."

"Harry likes to pretend he's not important" Luna said. "He's wrong, of course. He has always been very important, and he will continue to be very important. Harry just does not know how to handle it."

"It was kind of fun being a celebrity right after the Battle of Hogwarts" Neville said. "I sure wouldn't want to be like Harry and have to deal with that all of the time."

Luna was always asked to sign her card, and as people gushed over her she started out visibly shaken. By the fourth or fifth time she started to take it in stride, however. "I guess when you have a Chocolate Frog card of your own people feel free to talk to you" Luna said "Although some of the younger ones seem a little scared of us. I don't know why.

* * *

The opening feast did not start out a lot different. Minerva McGonagall was headmistress. There was a new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Sidney Stanford, tall, black hair with the slightest touch of gray around the temples, from the U.S. Sidney Stanford was according to the rumors single. There were several additional new teachers, including a new Muggle Studies teacher. The sorting had more people in Gryffindor and fewer people in Slytherin, and there were more students than the years before. Some of them had been kept out of the school or even the country because of the troubles, so there were 12 and even a couple of 13 year old first years, and a similar mixture of ages in all 7 classes.

Everything went without a hitch until the sorting. When the sorting hat came to David Jones Harry gripped Ginny's hand especially hard. Ginny took one hard look at his face and silently mouthed "Nora." Harry squeezed Ginny's hand again but did not say anything. Nora Jones was still missing.

At the end of the meal Ms. McGonagall got up to give the opening speech. She said "Welcome back, Hogwarts students. Last year was a most difficult year for most of you, for a variety of reasons. This year we have more students than we have had in years, and more unusual students. Because students could not or did not want to come to Hogwarts last year and because some students went into hiding or left the country when Tom Riddle was back we have students 1 or 2 or even 3 years older than normal. We have 4 married couples, 2 that are both attending school, and Mrs. Ginny Weasley Potter and Mrs. Hanna Abbot Longbottom, both of whom have husbands training to be Aurors.

"We also have a number of students that were hurt, some very seriously, last year. Two are in wheelchairs, not just due to their injuries but in one case because the Carrow's did not allow him to be treated in time, and in the other case because of an injury that one of the Muggle born healers at St. Mungo's could have healed but that healer had to run for his life and there was no one else to help. Other students have less obvious physical problems, but please make allowances. It may take them longer to get someplace.

There are other students that the events of the last year have left them emotionally fragile." McGonagall took off her glasses and wiped her eyes. You could see her trying to get control of her own emotions. "I have to say that all of us are probably a little emotionally fragile. Last year was such a difficult year for everyone. We talked to all the students we thought were the most fragile, the most at risk. We have six students wearing a yellow "E" to indicate that they are especially emotionally fragile. The six students wearing the yellow "E" are to be accompanied by one or two students from their house at all time. Their house Prefects are going to be working with other students in their house and the staff to protect these and a number of other students who were tortured or otherwise suffered greatly last year.

It was not an easy decision to single out these six students, but if you knew their stories you would understand why we felt we had to warn everybody to be exceptionally careful around them. You are all warned that the usual jokes and play, if directed at a student that has a problem, can get you severe punishment! I think we ought to be very careful with everyone for a while.

For all of you, there are specialists available in the infirmary if the events of the last couple of years or anything else are causing you problems."

Ms. McGonagall then proceeded to introduce all the teachers and give a more normal first of the year speech.

Ginny had noticed the younger of the two students in a wheelchair. She seemed to be determined to make the best of the situation, and was animatedly talking to her friends. The older boy was wearing and "E" just looked fragile, not only physically but also emotionally. A couple of other students were around him fiercely protecting him. Sometimes he seemed OK, but at other times you could tell there was some terror in his face.

Several of the Gryffindor students approached the couples and asked if they could talk to them in the Gryffindor common room. Harry explained "I would love to go into the Gryffindor common room, but Ministry employees are strictly forbidden from going into the common rooms or dorm rooms. It's actually a good thing. That rule was never violated until, I understand, last year." Ginny and several other students nodded at this; almost every rule made to protect the students was violated the previous school year. Harry continued "We can talk in public areas, and Ginny or I are allowed to invite you into our private quarters. Neville and I are not Gryffindor students any more. It's really irregular having Neville and me living here.

We really need to go to our rooms right now, but we will try and make time to talk with you this week."

* * *

Harry and Neville arrived at the Ministry at 8:00 AM September 2 for the start of Auror training. Most of the DA, Harry, Ron, Neville, Terry Boot, Justin Finch-Flechley, Seamus Finnigan, Anthony Goldstein, Ernie Macmillan, Padma and Parvati Patil , Cho Chang and Zacharias Smith were in the class. Lavender Brown was still healing, spending half or more of her time at St. Mungo's and the rest at home recuperating. Theodore Nott, a Slytherin in Harry's year, had somehow gotten acceptable grades in all his classes and had avoided taking part in the tortures and other activities that would keep him from joining the Aurors. His uncle was a death eater, but his father had kept a low profile and could not be accused of anything.

They were led down to the personnel office, where Harry was beckoned in to fill out an application. The rest of the recruits were standing around waiting when Al Van Lente walked in and said "What are you doing?"

"Waiting to fill out an application" Ron said. "They are making us do it one at a time."

"What the hell!" Al exclaimed. "Where are the damn applications? Where is Harry?"

"He's behind that door filling out his application" said Ron.

Harry was sitting before an older man with glasses, answering questions as the man filled in the form, when Al stormed into the room. "What the hell do you think you're doing sitting here making all those people wait."

"I need to fill in the forms" the nervous wizard said.

"Why can't they fill out the forms themselves?" a glowering Al asked.

"We've never done it that way" the wizard meekly said. "I don't have the authority to change anything."

"Stupid squinty eyed bureaucrats, shit heads, damn it to hell" Al fumed. "Who does have the authority?"

"I don't know." the wizard replied, visibly shrinking away as Al pushed his face into his.

"Your name is?" asked Al, inches from his face.

"Roger Hoffman, sir" the wizard said.

"Kingsley's going to hear about this one" Al muttered as he stormed out of the room.

A short time later Al came storming into the waiting area, followed by Kingsley Shacklebolt and Gawain Robards. Al threw open the door to the little application office and said "Tell me again why you need to keep these valuable people waiting why you sit there and fill in the damn forms for them. I assume since they have all been accepted as Aurors in training they can all write!"

"It's always been done this way" the man replied.

"Where are the other applications?" Kingsley asked. The little wizard pointed to a pile on a desk just a short way away. "Get them and bring them here."

The little wizard just stared at Kingsley. As the wizard bureaucrat sat there paralyzed with fear Al glowered at him, turned to the desk, and quietly said "Accio applications." When the applications landed in his hand he gave them to Robards, and Robards said "I'll get our Auror candidate started" as he headed out of the room.

"How can we speed up this process?" Al asked the wizard. "Do they need identification? Uniforms? Do you stand there with your thumb up your ass wasting the valuable time of our Aurors, doing these things one person at a time, or is there a way we can speed up the process?"

The wizard was shaking at this point. He handed Al a checklist he had made up, and Al and Kingsley looked over it.

"My application is done" Harry said. While Al was fighting with Rodger Hoffman Harry had finished filling out the form.

The room was a modest sized room in the Ministry, with four desks spaced apart. One desk was obviously Rodger's, and there were two witches at two of the other desks. Kingsley asked "Who is responsible for generating the identification?" A witch indicated she was. "I always do it with Rodger" she said.

"Are you capable of making the identification on your own?" Kingsley asked.

"I could try" the witch said.

"Don't try, do" Kingsley said.

"But the application needs to be reviewed first" the witch said.

Kingsley looked over the application quickly. "I've reviewed it, and it looks good to me. Get Harry his identification!" Then Kingsley turned to Rodger. "I will have the Auror candidates in here one at a time. Look over the applications for any missing information. You have ten minutes max per candidate, unless there is something seriously wrong. Then pass the candidate on to, Miss?"

"Applebee, sir" the witch said. "Mrs."

Kingsley said "Misses Applebee, you need to have identifications made as fast as Rodger gets our new Aurors processed. When everything is done they can all go and get their uniforms together. If all this is not done by eleven I expect Mr. VanLente will be very mad, and that will make me very mad. Do I make myself clear?"

"But" Rodger said. "Some of the steps are missing. We have to record them and give the information to payroll and, all that takes time."

"And AFTER the Aurors are done you will take all the information to payroll in one trip, by yourselves, and not make these valuable people wait any longer. Anything else you have to do will be done efficiently, without bothering our Auror candidates unless it is absolutely necessary, and it will all be done tonight!" Kingsley almost shouted. "If there are minor issues we can take them up tomorrow, and you tell me before you get one of these valuable people out of their training."

Al pointed to Harry and he went over to Mrs. Applebee. Al then poked his head out the door and asked "Are any of you through with your applications?" A couple were, and Al said "Cho, come on in."

Kingsley Shacklebolt left, and Gawain Robards followed shortly after. After Harry had his identification Al said "Get in touch with me if there are any more of these stupid delays, Harry. Stand here and watch our suddenly efficient crew here."

"Yes, sir!" Harry said. Harry did not say much, but the fact that he was standing there, and that he was obviously good friends with Minister Shacklebolt and Al VanLente and maybe even Gawain Robards made everyone in the little office nervous, and they finished up their work with unaccustomed speed and efficiency.

Al was back with the Auror candidates in about ten thirty, mumbling to himself, obviously not happy although Harry thought that Al could be happy to be not happy as long as he was getting things done. By eleven the entire crew was entering a classroom. At the head of it was an older witch. "I'm Mrs. Edie Evans, and I'm a legal expert" Edie said by way of introduction. "I am here to tell you the legal restrictions you will be operating under. After you thoroughly learn all the rules that govern your behavior you will be given permission to use spells that Aurors need to perform their duties. Please pick up one of these manuals."

Harry looked at a thick manual. He turned to the back and saw that it was almost a thousand pages long. Mrs. Evans started at the first paragraph of page one and started to read. Harry thought he was back in Professor Binns class. He started to thumb through the huge tome, and for some reason started at the back where it seemed the most recent entries were. He quickly double checked; it looked like the last two hundred pages were laws put in place last year, terribly unfair laws forbidding arrest of pure blood even for odious crimes, laws forbidding anyone but pure blood from practicing any magic. Al was sitting in the front row, also paging through the book, and they looked at each other and shook their heads. Harry pointed out a particularly odious piece of legislation. Al looked at it and shook his head.

Mrs. Evans went over to Harry and Al and said "You are supposed to be listening in class, not going off on your own. You will be tested on this material and if you don't pass you are not going to become Aurors."

"How are we every going to operate under these laws from last year?" asked Harry. "Their wrong, perverted, everything we've been fighting against!"

"It's not my problem. Maybe they will be changed" Mrs. Evans said. "Meanwhile you need to learn the laws that are now on the book."

"Come on Harry" said Al as he pulled Harry out of the class.

"This is what I've been afraid of, Harry" said Al as they walked, almost ran, down the hall. "Your Ministry was not very good before last year. It really never got over the first of Voldemort's reigns, but this last year has obviously made things much worse. All the current Aurors just ignore the law, but that's not a good long term solution either."

"Why am I involved?" asked Harry. "Oh, and call him Tom Riddle, please. The less Lord the better."

"Because you are going to help run the training, just like you did with the DA, and you are on the Wizengamot and are going to help get the laws changed, and I want the training department terrified of you" replied Al. By this time they were at Robards office. He waved them in. Al dropped the thousand page manual on Robards desk.

"Merlin, no!" Robards said, shaking his head. "Edie can waste the whole fall going over that damn manual line by line. Some of this stuff does need to be covered, but not all this bull."

"It looks like a lot of the laws, at least the more recent ones, need to be repealed" Harry said.

"I'll talk to Kingsley about changing the laws" Al said as he got up. "Harry, talk to Robards about training, and what you did with the DA."

"Yes, sir" Harry said as Al rushed out of the room.

"Is he always in a hurry like that?" Harry asked as Al almost ran out of the room.

"No" Robards said. "Al can be very impatient, but usually he's impatient for good reasons." Robards shrugged his shoulders. "Usually. Al's not always the easiest person in the world to work with.

There is more to being an Auror than just fighting, Harry. Memory management, investigating. You do need to understand the legal principals under which we operate. I found this as I was looking through old documents." Robards pulled out a booklet about one hundred pages long. "This is the summary of laws and regulations Aurors operated under between about nineteen forty five and the mid-fifties."

"Can we go back to this?" asked Harry.

"We could, and we should go back to something like this" Robards said. "I tried to talk the training department into this, with no success."

"If Misses Evans keeps reading this manual" Harry said pointing at the huge manual "And reads like she is Professor Binns, the whole class is going to revolt."

"I had Professor Binns too" Robards said. "I'm not sure I ever really listened to him drone on, although I did read all I could about history. I got real good at reading and sort of listening for someone other than Binns voice. When someone asked a question I listened, but otherwise I read in his class. Edie can be better than that. I think she's just terrified of doing something wrong, after all the administrations she's been through."

"How many people are like her at the Ministry?" asked Harry.

"Too many" Robards said. "You are going to have to help lead the training, although not alone. Some of the foreign Aurors are going to help."

"Good!" Harry exclaimed.

"If you had to pick two helpers, two people to be leaders in some self-training, who would they be?" asked Robards.

"Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom" Harry said. "Some of the others are good too, but those two are the best."

Harry and Gawain spent about five minutes talking about Ron and Neville. Gawain was impressed that both of them were at the Battle of the Ministry, that Ron was an excellent chess player and tactician and Neville helped lead the DA when Harry was gone. "Neville is a really good teacher" Harry said.

Finally Gawain sat back in his chair, folded his arms, and looked at Harry. "So you are Harry Potter. The Hero of Hogwarts. Victor over Lord Voldemort. Richest wizard in the world. The new Merlin."

"Call him Tom Riddle" Harry said. "The more often we call him by his proper name the less people will fear him, or his memory."

"And what should we call you?" Gawain asked. "Lord Potter?"

"I'm just Harry, sir" Harry pleaded. "I never wanted to be famous."

"I've heard rumors that you are after my job, and with your father-in-law as my boss I'm at a disadvantage" Robards said. "I know office politics."

"I just want to do a good job, make the world a better place" Harry said. "I'm not after your job."

"And we have to give you full time pay even if you are at the Wizengamot or off chasing money" Gawain said. "We've had a few privileged rich young men here. They don't last. They either quit or they get killed early, because they are not very good."

Harry did not know how to answer Gawain. There was a lot of pent up frustration and maybe some envy in Gawain's voice.

"I can't be at the training all that much. Too much to do" Robards said. "Al views it as a priority, but he can be called away at any moment. You and your team are going to have to help train yourselves. Even when others are training you, you are going to need to help run the training, or help supervise the training."

"I don't have any authority to do this" Harry replied just as Al and Kingsley walked in the room.

"You're on the Wizengamot, you're a damn war hero, and your money is helping support the Ministry, Harry" said Al. "Keep asking all of us if you are doing the right thing, don't get cocky, and beyond that make sure the right thing is being done even if you have to yell a little, or walk out of class and get someone else to intervene."

"It's not like you are putting any pressure on me?" asked Harry warily.

"Oh of course no one has ever asked you to do anything difficult, Harry" said Al laughing. "Non illigitamus carborundum, don't let the bastards wear you down."

"Thanks, I think" Harry replied cautiously.

Al and Harry, reinforced by Kingsley and Robards, walked into the classroom. Robards held up a copy of the little book and said "Edie, I suggested you use this instead of that monstrosity you are using to give our new class of Aurors a briefing on the law. Now I'm telling you, use the little book."

"Nothing brief about this" Ron muttered quite loudly, and all the rest of the class nodded in agreement.

"But that's an old book" Edie replied, a little defensively.

"For the rest of the day you can get ready to teach out of this book, Mrs. Evans" Kingsley said. "You are to take days, not weeks, to cover this material. The next time Gawain makes a suggestion I strongly recommend you pay careful attention to it."

Edie took the book and went over to a corner of the room to start to read it, looking warily at the Minister and the others.

"Why don't we go through this mess and see what laws need to be repealed" Harry suggested.

"I need to talk to Harry, Ron and Neville" Gawain said. "The rest of you, decide among yourselves how best to cover this book. Find the really bad laws, ask questions of any you don't understand. If you divide up the book it should only be about a hundred pages each."

"Let's break for lunch" suggested Kingsley. "Does anyone know where the cafeteria is?"

A couple of the class raised their hands.

."I want to see Gawain, Harry, Ron and Neville in my office, and Al of course and you are?" Kingsley said as he was looking at Jim Snook.

"Auror Jim Snook, sir. We are guarding Harry and Ginny" Jim replied.

"We need to talk about your role too" Kingsley said.

The six men went into Kingsley's office. Kingsley said "I want food for six brought in for us, and unless there is an emergency do not disturb us." A very young wizard said "Yes, sir."

When they were seated Al asked "Are the places where the Aurors are being trained safe?"

Jim Shook said "Once the trainees are in either a classroom or, from what I understand a training room we can easily secure the perimeter. That way I am notified if anyone unauthorized tries to get in. We can make the spells even stronger so if anyone tries to get in, even one of you, one or more of us is instantly notified."

"I think they should strengthen the spells, with Jim and, if you had to pick one other person not one of you to be notified who would it be?" Al asked as he turned to Harry.

"Cho Chang" suggested Harry. "If we had one other person here she would be the one."

Al looked around the room for a consensus, and then said "Jim, you train Cho to be on alert and get notified if there are any problems. I want all these people to be notified, but at a lower level."

Kingsley said "Gawain, do you have the training schedule, the old one?"

"Right here, boss" Gawain said.

"Let's see how we can compress this into four months in the ministry, with another year of field training and attending classes" Kingsley said.

For most of the afternoon the group worked on the new training schedule.

Kingsley left a couple of times to talk to the rest of the Auror candidates, to help with their review of the thousand page law manual.

At about four o'clock the training meeting broke up. Kingsley asked Harry to stay behind. "We need a lot of laws changed, Harry" Al said. "You have one more seat that you inherited. Do you know who you want to take it?'

"I think the best person would be Hermione Granger" Harry said. "She is very bright, and she would make sure the laws were fair."

"You've mentioned Hermione before, and I have heard of her from others. Here is the preliminary paperwork to get Hermione on the Wizengamot" Kingsley said. "You need to fill out this, and she needs to fill out this. She needs letters of recommendation, and I would think she could get enough from the teachers at Hogwarts. Here is a book on how to write a new law, and how to change or abolish an old law. If she can have legislation in our hands by Friday morning we will get some of these laws changed."

"That's a lot to ask of her" Harry said.

"I have spent less than 8 hours a week at my house since the Battle of Hogwarts" Kingsley said. "I sleep here. We are pushing everybody too hard, you as much as anybody. It will end, I promise you, but we need to get these laws changed, and I believe you that Hermione Grainger is the best person we could put on the Wizengamot right now."

"Yes sir" said Harry. "Sir, I have one more question?"

"What is it, Harry?" Kingsley asked kindly.

"Nora Jones, and Pansy Parkinson? Are they still missing?"

"Nora Jones parents and sister Megan Jones are cooperating. Megan sort of has to; we said that as long as she cooperated we would not charge her for trying to try to hurt you. We do not have any good news, however. There is some evidence that the Death Eaters or whoever has her are torturing her. They want money, at least, and the Ministry just can't give them money or it will encourage more hostage taking. Best for the long run but terribly hard on Nora and the Jones family."

"Pansy? I don't like her but she doesn't deserve torture."

"Her parents are not cooperating at all, Harry. I have a bad feeling about that."

Harry found the rest of the class in the training room, and together they went over the thousand page manual and summary of laws, with notes on what they wanted changed. Harry finally had a parchment about ten pages long summarizing all the changes they wanted. The gathering broke up a little after six. Harry looked at his watch. Dinner was already starting at Hogwarts. He and Neville were going to be late. Ron had already left for the Hogsmeade store.

* * *

Harry and Neville took the floo to Grimmauld Place, and from there to their rooms at Hogwarts. They got to the main hall about the middle of the main course.

Harry and Neville tried to sneak into the hall to sit with their wives; it did not work. As soon as the crowd realized that Harry and Neville were coming in they rose up and applauded, some of the students screaming and jumping up and down. McGonagall tried to calm the hall down, and when she and Harry had gotten the crowd seated and quiet McGonagall said "Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom should be here early in the morning and most evenings and weekends for this school year, living with their wives who are trying to finish their studies. If you can control yourselves and not applaud or interfere all of you should have a chance to meet Mr. Potter and Longbottom over the course of the year. In the meantime please give the Potters and Longbottoms some space. If you make such a scene that they can not come here to visit their wives we are going to have a couple of very unhappy couples."

The hall did quiet down, and Harry and Neville sat down to eat with their wives. Neville said "I really did not expect that! Is this what it has been like for you, Harry?" "Sort of" said Harry, trying to eat.

Harry looked at Hermione and said "Could you come back to our room with Ginny, Hanna and Neville. I, we, need to talk to you."

"Sure Harry" said Hermione, and she accompanied the two couples up to their living quarters.

Everybody went to Harry and Ginny's room. Harry brought out the thousand page manual and a copy of the one hundred page old manual, and the book on how to make new laws, change laws, and repeal laws.

Harry started out by showing the smaller booklet, saying "In the 1940's and 1950's this book is what the Aurors got to summarize the laws and regulations they operated under." Showing everybody the thousand page book he said "This is what we were given late this morning. The last two hundred pages were written just last year, and they are perverted, horrible laws against everything we have been fighting for. The last two hundred pages need to be repealed, but many of the other laws need repealing or changing. We need somebody very bright, very academic who at the same time has a good sense of right and wrong, to go over these laws. In other words, Hermione, we need you to go over these laws and write whatever we have to introduce to repeal the worst of them, and then over the next few months change anything that needs to be changed."

"I'm not on the Wizengamot, Harry" Hermione said.

"Oh, yes, please fill in this form so we can start the process of putting you on the Wizengamot, in a seat I have inherited" Harry said. "You need letters of recommendations, but I think that right here in Hogwarts you have plenty of teachers who would be thrilled to recommend you."

"Where am I going to get the time to do this?" and exasperated and somewhat panicky Hermione inquired.

Harry shrugged his shoulders and looked around at the others in the room. "Maybe less Quidditch, less flying?" Hermione's dislike for flying on a broom, and inability to do it well, was well known.

Hermione made a nasty face at Harry, replying "Less Quidditch, sure."

Harry pleaded "We've summarized the more odious passages, at least the ones the Auror trainees found."

Hermione took the books and the list from Harry. "Ron's working two jobs. I guess I can too. I'd never live it down if Ronald was working harder than I was" Hermione sort of mumbled. "I wonder if Ron will even get here tonight? Hanna, Neville, Ginny, Harry, good night."

After Hermione left Ginny said "Hermione is going to love it. She'll complain about how hard it is, but she will do her usual fabulous job.

"If you would excuse us Hanna and I want to go back to our rooms" Neville said.

"Harry said they need to leave Hogwarts at seven thirty, so we ought to be eating breakfast at six forty five" Ginny said. "See you out in the hall outside our rooms at six forty."

After Hanna and Neville left Ginny said "We need to be asleep by ten to get up at six."

"I don't expect you want to jump in bed and go right to sleep" teased Harry.

Ginny gave Harry one of her famous smirks, one marked by more than a little lust. "Oh I think nine thirty or even a little after gives us enough time for some serious shagging before sleep. You know I can always get right to sleep if you make me feel like a sexy woman at bedtime."

"Such tough duty" Harry volunteered.

Ginny had homework to do, and Harry looked over the training schedule they were going to try and follow, pondering the day's events.

Shortly before they went to bed Ginny saw Harry looking out the window, and she could tell that something was bothering him. She got up and went over, touched his arm, and said "What's bothering you, Harry?"

"Oh, nothing" Harry replied.

Ginny got the fierce look in her eyes that Harry admired so much and quietly said "Don't you ever tell me nothing like that! Something is bothering you."

Harry knew better than to try and hide anything from Ginny. She could almost read his mind. "The responsibility" Harry said. "I still feel responsible for all the deaths at Hogwarts, and now it looks like I'm going to be partly responsible for Auror training. What if we forget something important and somebody gets hurt or killed because of it? I just can't do everything."

"I'm sure no one is asking you to do everything, Harry" Ginny replied. "Just do your best."

"I think I'm doing the best I can" Harry said. "Look at all the people who suffered and died because of how long it took me to finish getting rid of the Horcrux. My best just wasn't good enough."

Ginny fiercely replied "Harry James Potter, how many people fought Tom Riddle for how many years? You finally won, but we all would have paid an even bigger price if you had not won, had not kept battling. It's not deaths you are responsible for!"

"People keep telling me that" Harry said. "I'm just not sure I'm good enough."

"Do the best you can to make your wife feel like a sexy woman" Ginny said with her trademark snarky smile. "That's something you are very good at.

Later that night, after Ginny was sleeping, Harry thought that keeping Ginny happy every night was something he could get used to.

* * *

Thursday morning Harry and Ginny, Neville and Hanna, got up early for breakfast again, so that Harry and Neville could be at the Ministry by 8:00 AM, a schedule they would follow for most of the school year. The best thing about breakfast at 6:45 AM was the lack of company; the worst part was getting up at 6:00 AM and trying to be sleeping at 10:00 PM. Ron and Hermione joined them for breakfast.

At seven thirty the three Auror trainees left for the floo in Harry and Ginny's apartment, and from there to Grimmauld Place and then the Ministry. Harry noticed that David and Kim Williamson seemed to have the night shift, and David went with Harry to the Ministry. Jim Shook was waiting at the Ministry, and took Davis's place.

The first full day on the laws, rules and regulations with the little book passed without anything too unusual. Edie Evans seemed to want to just lecture, but she kept being interrupted. Since Al did more interrupting than anyone else, with Harry a close second, Edie had to discuss more of the reasoning and history behind certain laws and regulations, so the class ended up being far more interesting and informative than it could have been.

* * *

After their men left Hermione excused herself from Ginny and Hanna and went up to see Professor McGonagall.

"Harry and Minister Shacklebolt want me on the Wizengamot" Hermione said. "Could you give me a letter of recommendation?"

"Excellent student, the only blemish on her record is a certain significant lack of discretion when it comes to a boyfriend who has not been given permission to spend the night at Hogwarts" McGonagall said.

Hermione was visibly ashamed and more than a little defensive. "We want to get married" Hermione said, "but my parents are going to want at least a modest sized wedding in our church, and I don't see how that could happen until next summer."

"You're not even formally engaged, Hermione" McGonagall said.

"Ron is trying to get enough money for a ring" Hermione said.

McGonagall replied "For Witches and Wizards the ring is not the important thing. A formal engagement is. Once you are not just talking about maybe getting engaged but are contractually engaged we can talk about giving you a little extra freedom. Until then it really would be better if young Mr. Weasley did not spend the night. Meanwhile I would be delighted to write you a glowing letter of recommendation, and forget about last night's lapse."

"Yes, Professor McGonagall" a chastised Hermione said. "Thank you!"

Ginny and Hanna could see the tension in the conversation, and of course they had to ask what was going on. Ginny for her part was very glad that Harry was going to be sleeping with her every night!

The Defense against the Dark Arts class started that morning. Even though it was a 7th year class it was a large class. Sidney started out by introducing himself. "I'm Professor Stanford. I was born in the United States, and trained in magic at the New Mexico school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They teach Native American magic as well as conventional magic in New Mexico. I received advanced training at the North American College of Magic in San Francisco, and then became an Auror for the North American Ministry of Magic. I have spent four years working full time for the International Aurors Association in the field, and two years substitute teaching at three of the North American Schools.

Although I am still on call with the International Aurors Association I intend to be at Hogwarts when your children are here. I would like you all to introduce yourselves please, and tell me a little about yourself."

Sidney noticed Ginny and Hermione sitting right up front, on one side of the room. He pointed his wand at the back of the room and one after another students gave their name and told a little about themselves. Sidney made sure to find out who was at the Battle of Hogwarts or had any other practical experience in battling the dark arts.

Sitting in the second row, behind Ginny and Hermione, was Luna Lovegood. Sidney finally got to her.

"I am Luna Lovegood, and I am in Ravenclaw" Luna said in her soft airy voice. "I want to become a naturalist and hunt all sorts of magical beasts, the Crumpled-Horned Snorknack would be the best but I don't care I just want to find all the magical beasts that people don't believe exist and prove that they do."

"Do you have any practical experience in battling the dark arts, Miss Lovegood?" asked Sidney. "That's why I asked the question." You could tell from the expression on his face that he was trying to figure out this strange young lady.

"I was with Harry and Ginny and Ron and Hermione and Neville at the Battle of the Ministry, in the Department of Mysteries" Luna said. "I was also fighting with them when Headmaster Dumbledore was killed. I was at the Battle of Hogwarts, all the DA members were. I don't have many good friends but they're my friends!"

"Thank you, Luna" said Sidney as he looked at his student list. Finally he came to Hermione and Ginny. He pointed the wand first at Hermione.

"I'm Hermione Granger" Hermione said. "I was at both the battles. I'm kind of smart but I don't feel all that brave. I've had to do a lot, being friends with Harry, and Ron Weasley, he's really brave too. I just want to learn all I can while I have the chance."

"I got a list of what you did over the last seven years, Miss Granger. You've left a lot out" Sidney said. Hermione looked up at Sidney and nodded. "I'll talk to you later, Miss Granger. And now we come to Mrs. Potter" turning to her.

"I wasn't with Harry last year" Ginny said. "I did fight with him at the Department of Mysteries, and when Dumbledore was killed I was at that fight too, along with Luna and Hermione, but I was here most of last year."

"Doing what?" asked Sidney.

"Oh well, we got the DA going again, and did what we could, Neville and Luna, Luna was the other leader, and I" Ginny said.

"And you were tortured" Sidney suggested.

Ginny felt the scar on her chest and nodded.

"We will talk more about your experienced later" Sidney said. "I want to introduce you to our dueling dummy, Tom Riddle." Some of the students laughed at the name, although others seemed scared of it. The mannequin had a wand and a digital display. The display was going to show how strong your spell was. "Please try and disarm old Tom here" Sidney said as he had the class line up. "Use the expelliarmus spell, please."

Most of the class hit the target with a strength of 5 to 9. Hermione's spell was a 9.8. Ginny was the last one. She thought of Fred, of Harry taking the killing curse, and of all the torture she had undergone the last year. She touched the scar above her right breast. She then threw a tremendous spell. The wand flew out of the mannequin's hand, and the display registered 12.5. Sidney asked Ginny to explain how she got such a powerful spell, and then used her explanation to teach the relationship between knowledge and emotion in wand magic.

Thursday night Harry and Neville got to the Great Hall just a little late. Dinner had just started, and there were plates ready for them. After giving Ginny a kiss and a little talk about their respective days Harry turned to Hermione and asked "Are you making any progress with the laws?"

"I can have something for you tomorrow, afternoon would be better than morning, but to do it right is going to take a very long time, Harry" Hermione said.

"When is your last class Friday" Harry asked.

"I am done by two o'clock" Hermione said.

"I'll let Kingsley know" Harry replied. Several students noticed that Harry was not referring to Minister of Magic Shacklebolt by his title but by his first name, which caused his standing among the students to rise even more. After dinner Harry and Ginny excused themselves to go to their room. When they got to the room Harry said "I need to see Kingsley briefly. I should be back in half an hour or so."

Ginny frowned and said "I have to study, but it's just more comfortable studying with you here."

"I'll be back as soon as I can" Harry answered.

* * *

Friday morning Ron was not at breakfast. Harry told Hermione "I had a brief discussion with Kingsley Shacklebolt last night. I am going to pick you up after your last class and we are going to see what we can get done at the Wizengamot tonight."

"I'm not sure if I am ready, Harry" Hermione said.

"Are you ever ready, Hermione?" Harry kidded.

"I'll have something for you" Hermione replied.

Friday afternoon Harry excused himself from the Auror class at two and went to Hogwarts to pick up Hermione. They went up to Kingsley Shacklebolt's office. There to meet them was Kingsley and also Edie Evans. Kingsley greeted them with "Hello Hermione, Harry."

Harry, having been instructed before by Kingsley Shacklebolt to use his first name, greeted him with "Hi Kingsley."

Hermione sort of curtsied and said "Good afternoon, Minister Shacklebolt."

Kingsley grinned and responded "I hope after a few weeks of working on these laws we will become friends, Hermione. Harry knows Edie Evans, although just as a rather boring teacher. There is more to Edie, believe me."

"Do you have your application to take the Black seat at the Wizengamot, Hermione?" asked Edie, holding out her hand.

"Right here" Hermione responded, handing in the paperwork that Harry had given her, and also glowing letters of recommendation from the entire staff at Hogwarts. Edie took a few minutes to read over all the documents that Hermione had given her, a big grin coming over her face.

"Everything is in order" Edie said. "I should be able to have Hermione on the Wizengamot by the end of the month, which will make it easier for her to introduce or repeal laws. Let's see what you have for us tonight."

Hermione brought out a brief two page document. It started out with "Because of the troubles over the last year many laws were put in place that are against long standing British and Magical law. Therefore the Wizengamot of Great Britain nullifies and strikes the following laws and proclamations." What followed was a list of the laws being stricken, revered to by their number and date of enactment only.

Edie looked at the list, and started to go down it, looking at a couple of books as she did so. The more she looked the bigger her smile got. After about half an hour Edie turned to Hermione and pointed to the large book she was referencing. "How about we add a couple of additional laws to this list" Edie said as she showed Hermione the passages.

Hermione read the passages and nodded.

Kingsley said "Hermione, from now on when you come here Friday afternoons I am going to have you just see Edie. Edie, why don't you show Hermione to your office."

"I would like that, Kingsley" Edie said. "It's nice to be on the side of the good guys again!"

Harry and Kingsley talked a little about how the revisions to the laws were going to be presented to the Wizengamot, and the part Harry was going to have to play. "You're going to be back at Hogwarts pretty late tonight, Harry" he said. "We will get everything we want, but there will be a lot of argument from some of the Pure Blood faction, and a few nasty things said about Hermione too." About five Harry excused himself to tell Neville to tell Ginny that he would be back late.

In the end all the laws that Hermione and Edie wanted revoked were, but it was after ten thirty before the Wizengamot was adjourned, and it took another fifteen minutes just to say a few words to people who wanted to talk to either Harry or Hermione.

Harry stumbled in through the floo in his Hogwarts room at about eleven in the evening.

* * *

Friday at dinner Neville told Ginny at dinner that Harry was going to be quite late as he was meeting with Al and Kingsley Shacklebolt. Quite late turned out to be 11:00 PM, and since Quidditch tryouts were going to start early the next morning Ginny was not happy. She could not get to sleep knowing that Harry was going to be there, but was in a bad mood when he finally came in. It took a half an hour of talking before Ginny was ready for bed, and another almost half an hour for the nightly ritual before she could sleep. At least there were no classes for either Harry or Ginny Saturday, and tryouts were not going to start until 9:00 AM.

* * *

Author's Notes.

This is the first chapter posted without LadymBlack's help, as she is busy with as I like to call it "real life." I am very open to another beta, although I expect a little continuing help from LadymBlack. Her story is worth reading!

Jet LaBarge


	20. Ch 20, Quidditch and an Engagement

Almost Happily Ever After

Ch 20 Quidditch and an Engagement

_iMolly gave Hermione a copy of __**Witches and Wizards Graphic Guide to Married Sex. **__She eagerly opened the book, came to the first illustration, quickly slammed the book shut and said, with an amazingly huge smile on her face "we're going to read this book in private, Ron." Then with come hither smile "I can tell there will beu __lots __of homework with __this __book!" Ron looked embarrassed but also very pleased_./i .

* * *

Saturday morning Harry and Ginny both woke up about seven, just a little short of sleep. They didn't say a lot to each other until they were down for breakfast. Finally Harry said "Quidditch tryouts."

"I have the pitch from nine to one" Ginny said. "I have no idea who or what we have. I know the witches and wizards that practiced with me this summer, but there should be more good candidates."

"Are you just going to recruit one team, or are you going to try and have backups for all the positions?' asked Harry.

"I would like some backup for each position" Ginny said. "We've talked about it before. It would be ideal to have two teams, even if not full teams, to scrimmage against.'

There was a huge crowd for the tryouts. Ginny was glad that Harry was there to help. They first cleared the field of anyone who was not in Gryffindor, and then had everyone start out in groups of 10 doing some simple exercises on the broom. That got rid of a large group. They then tried out by position. They soon had 2 keepers, 5 chasers plus Ginny, 4 beaters, and 2 candidates for seeker. In the end one of the seekers was clearly better than Ginny, and the other one was close enough to Ginny's skill to be a good reserve. Ginny was clearly the best chaser they had, but 3 of the other chasers were good, and Ginny was going to try and make sure that over the season all 3 of them got to play. She had 2 good beaters and an acceptable reserve, plus one more young student that was going to play as a reserve and learn. She had enough players to have 2 small teams to play against each other for practice.

When they were done everybody broke for lunch, a late lunch. They spent a couple of hours after lunch in practice, and then scheduled additional practice sessions.

Saturday evening Hermione came over to Harry and Ginny's room to talk to Harry. "Do you have the Marauders Map, Harry?" asked Hermione. "There have been some incidents where Muggle born students' possessions have been vandalized. Do you think I could use the Marauders Map to see and maybe record what was happening at the castle?"

"You can borrow it, Hermione, but I really don't want anyone else to know about it" Harry answered. "I don't have any idea if you can record what the map shows. I've never heard or read of recording what a magic thing shows."

"I think that Muggle recorders sometime have a hard time recording magic things" said Hermione. "I think it's a harder problem than you would think."

"Where has Ron been" asked Ginny.

"He and I have both been busy, and we're not formally engaged, and that is causing some problems. I've seen him a couple of times. We're working on some things" Hermione said sort of evasively.

* * *

Sunday morning Harry and Ginny went to the New Burrow for breakfast with the family. It was not at all common for Hogwarts students to be given permission to leave as freely as Ginny and Hermione were going to be leaving.

Ron and Hermione arrived late, about 10:30, which was very unusual for them. Ron was nervous, but Hermione was beaming. The first thing she did was show a very modest ring that was clearly an engagement ring, and said "Ron asked me to marry him this morning!"

Ginny could not resist asking "Well, what did you say?"

"Yes, of course!" said Hermione.

"Why now, Ron?" asked Molly.

Ron said "Well, it took some time to save up enough money for a ring. McGonagall was giving us a hard time having the fireplaces connected as just boyfriend and girlfriend."

Hermione added "She was telling me that having the fireplaces connected was out of order, and if something did not change soon we would have to limit our visits to Hogsmeade weekends. So I kind of pushed Ron to get his act together."

"Kind of!" said Ron. "Like 'if you want to keep visiting me we are going out and getting a ring today."

"I thought you could go back and forth to get books" Molly said.

"Well, yes" said Hermione. "Sort of. Professor McGonagall told me that we're not married. They are giving Harry and Neville a lot of freedom, because they are married, but there are a lot of young witches and wizards at Hogwarts and just as boyfriend and girlfriend we had to be very careful not to give scandal."

Molly got a serious look on her face. "You want to do more than just see each other, more than just a little innocent snogging."

Both Hermione and Ron got very red. They were both waiting for Molly to explode. Finally Hermione said "I tried to explain that I'm my parents only child, and that they are going to want to put on a big Muggle wedding in their local church, and we could not possibly get married before this summer. She said something about a formal engagement, like if we were formally engaged she could overlook, like…, Mrs. Weasley I want to do the right thing!"

"She wants a Wizards contract before she will let you sleep together" said a serious Molly. "Don't try and tell me you haven't been sharing a bed."

Hermione and Ron both looked sheepishly at Molly and nodded, not sure what kind of reception this would get.

"Taking birth control?" asked Molly of Hermione.

Hermione nodded yes.

"I don't know what it is about wars and the end of wars that gets everybody's sex drive aflame" said Molly. "Arthur and I can't say too much. I told Arthur when we were still living at Hogwarts that we'd have a hurry-up wedding out of one of you three children, Ginny, Ron, George." George and Angelica got a real embarrassed look on their faces as everybody in the room turned to look at them. "I like the partners you've chosen, and it's not that I'm not ready for grandchildren." Molly sighed deeply. "It's just that things have been happening too fast!"

"Ron" said Arthur, "are you absolutely sure you want to marry Hermione? Wizard contracts are for life."

"I'm absolutely sure" Ron said, holding on to Hermione's hand. "Hermione, the brightest witch in the world, wants to marry me! I'd be a bloody fool to pass that one up." Ron ogled Hermione rather obviously and said "It doesn't hurt that she's bloody beautiful as well!" Hermione giggled at this remark, giving Ron a little poke.

"Hermione" Arthur said. "I know that some Muggles do not stay married. Magical contracts are not like that. Once you sign a Wizards contract, and say the spells, good or bad, you are stuck with this red headed boy as long as you both live."

"And his whole fantastic family" Hermione said. "I'm ready. I've been ready for a long time, actually, Ronald" looking right at Ron. Ron squirmed and mouthed 'sorry.'

Hermione and Harry both looked around. Everybody was very serious. Ginny held on to Harry's hand tightly, and Harry just looked very intently at the scene unfolding before him.

Arthur got up and went to the library. A short time later he came back with a piece of parchment. No one had said anything while Arthur was away.

Arthur took the parchment over to Ron and Hermione. "This is a formal engagement contract. They have been used when you could not get to a Ministry of Magic for a formal ceremony, or when something else prevented a proper wedding. They are just as binding as a wedding. Do you both understand?"

"Is that what Professor McGonagall was talking about?" asked Hermione.

"Probably, or something like this" Arthur replied. "Say the words of the contract and sign your names. Molly and I will sign our names. We make duplicates and you are formally engaged, proper Wizard like."

Arthur pointed out a sentence on the contract for Ron to read, and Ron read "I Ronald Bilius Weasley agree to a formal engagement of marriage with Hermione Jean Granger, with a marriage to be performed within a year if possible, and agree to be faithful to Hermione until death part us." Ron looked astounded to say the least after he got done reading this, looking at Hermione.

"Are you sure, Ron?" Hermione asked.

"I've never been more sure of anything!" Ron said. "I just don't believe it!"

Hermione got her most proper 'I'm doing something important' look on and said "I Hermione Jean Granger agree to a formal engagement of marriage with Ronald Bilius Weasley, with a marriage to be performed within a year if possible, and agree to be faithful to Ronald until death part us. There! You're stuck with me!" She then proceeded to give Ron a little kiss, except they held the kiss for a very long time.

Ron, Hermione, Arthur and Molly signed the parchment, and then two additional copies were made. "I will take the original to the Ministry tomorrow" Arthur said as he gave one copy to Ron, the other to Hermione.

"Thank you Mr. Weasley" Hermione said.

"You might as well start calling us Mum and Dad, just like Harry and Angelina" Molly said.

Everybody congratulated Hermione and Ron. Molly gave Hermione a copy of **Witches and Wizards Graphic Guide to Married Sex. **Hermione eagerly opened the book, came to the first illustration, quickly slammed the book shut and said, with an amazingly huge smile on her face "we're going to read this book in private, Ron." Then with come hither smile "I can tell there will be lots of homework with this book!" Ron looked embarrassed but also very pleased.

After an awkward period of silence Molly asked "Well did anything else happen at school?"

"Ginny really blasted Tom Riddle" Hermione said, and you could almost say she had a smirk on her face. "Knocked the wand right out of his hand!"

Everybody looked at Ginny, who was just looking very pleased with herself. "Little me?' said Ginny with a mock serious tone.

"Little Ginny! Did you tell Harry about the Defense against the Dark Arts Class, and Tom Riddle?" said Hermione.

"Tom Riddle's just a dueling dummy. What about the class?" said Ginny.

Hermione answered. "Sidney had a test. We were supposed to disarm a mannequin, that Sidney had named Tom Riddle. The other students had scores from 5 to 9.5. Ginny was last. She was the only one whose spell actually knocked the wand out of the mannequin, and her score was 12.5! Poor Little Ginny. First you go and marry the hero of the Wizarding world and then you have over the top scores in Defense against Dark Arts. Don't ever give me that Poor Little Ginny line again!" Of course this produced a huge smile on Ginny's face, obviously a victory smile.

Harry said "I'm really glad that Sidney is making fun of Tom Riddle. At the Ministry there are still people afraid to call him by his name. I will have to tell him I approve."

Ron and Hermione had to go to the Grangers to announce their engagement. Ginny and Harry felt that they needed to get back and study, but Molly did keep them until well after lunch. Both Harry and Ginny hated to leave Teddy, but Sundays were the only day they could arrange to be with Teddy.

The second week in September Ginny began to get busy with class assignments, plus she wanted to practice Quidditch as much as possible. Ginny did a fair amount of one on one or two on two practice with other members of her team, which took up quite a bit of time during some days. As a result she was busy with homework most nights.

Monday night Harry went to his first Transfiguration class with Minerva McGonagall. When he came back he told Ginny "I'll probably have Transfiguration most Monday and Wednesdays until Christmas."

"It looks like I'll be studying every night during the week, if I want weekends even a little off" Ginny groused. "Hermione and I will be studying every weekday night after dinner, Monday through Thursday anyway."

"I have people who want to practice dueling with me Tuesday and Thursday" said Harry, "and I can always exercise. I'll take off Tuesday and Thursday and let you and Hermione study. Just let me know if you're not going to be tied up."

"Are we still going to be doing the DA club on Friday nights?" asked Ginny.

"Yes, and I'll be there if I can" said Harry. "Many Friday's I'll be tied up with Wizengamot business."

"Breakfast and Dinner, usually, and an hour or two at night" Ginny pondered, a little upset that she and Harry has so little time together. "Weekends are better. As long as we can make love every night, so I know you're mine and I'm yours, I'm all right. Life is just real busy. I love you, Harry."

"I love you too, Ginny" said Harry as they headed into their bedroom.

* * *

The rest of the fall schedule was usually similar. After dinner Tuesday and Thursday Harry could go back to the new Potter Estate/Foreign Auror building for exercise and dueling practice. On most Monday and Wednesdays Harry had Transfiguration with Minerva McGonagall. On Friday night if nothing else interfered there was the DA club for 5th, 6th and 7th year students. Ginny and Neville were still involved, and Harry tried to be there if at all possible. Harry would follow this schedule for most of the fall if possible.

Of course every Friday when there was a Wizengamot session, and surprisingly even most Fridays when there was not, Hermione was at the Ministry. The first Friday in October she was formally made a member, taking the Black seat that Harry had inherited.

Shortly after Hermione was made a member of the Wizengamot another issue came up. Harry had noticed that the two house elves that the Aurors had brought over from North America had uniforms on, so one day he saw Al VanLente and asked "How come the Auror house elves can wear uniforms? I thought that when an elf was given clothes they were free?"

"Oh, in North America most house elves are clothed" said Al. "Laws have been changed to allow an owner to require his house elves to wear rented uniforms. Since the uniforms are not owned by the person who owns the house elves, and since they are a requirement of, you can't say employment but maybe service to the household, it's not like giving house elves their freedom.

"Auror house elves are in sort of an unusual position. They are sort of owned by the Auror department, but are attached to an individual Auror. It's sort of like a policeman and his police dog. I hate that analogy, but we've had injured house elf Aurors retire to live with a family and injured Aurors who worked with a house elf have the house elf retire to serve the Auror."

"Could I rent clothes for Kreacher?" asked Harry.

"It's a sort of tricky legal question, Harry. Different countries have different laws. Ask the legal people" answered Al.

The next time Harry saw Hermione he said "I've just learned that house elves in North America are mostly clothed. Rental clothes. Because the clothes are not owned by the owner of the house elf it's not a gift of clothes but just a condition of employment, or a condition of service to the family. Could we do that here?"

"It's better than having them go around with as little as they have on now!" exclaimed Hermione.

Two weeks later Hermione got up to address the Wizengamot. "There have been a number of incidents over the last few years where the inability of house elves to wear more clothes than tradition dictates have resulted in very embarrassing situations for their owners as well as for the house elves. In North America they have come up with a compromise that allows the owner of a house elf to require elves that he owns to wear appropriate clothing without giving the house elf freedom. This North American compromise involved setting up rental uniform companies, so that the owner of the house elves does not own the clothes. We need some legislation to tweak the laws a little, but then farmers and certain other house elf owners will be able to require uniforms."

The new laws passed with little dissent, since it was presented as something that was to the benefit of the owners and not the house elves.

Of course after the law was passed someone had to start a uniform rental company, and the Harry Potter estate was going to take a 49% interest and an American company was going to take a 51% interest in a Uniform Rental Company. Just one more complexity in Harry's life, although one he should not have to do much with.

As soon as the Uniform Rental Company was set up Harry made sure that Kreacher had a uniform that he liked, that clearly indicated that Kreacher was head house elf for Harry Potter, which was good looking enough that he could stand next to a goblin dressed in rich clothes and not be ashamed. Kreacher ended up with six of these, all different, in various stages of formality from a comfortable around the house outfit to wear all the way up to the very luxurious and showy one used for the most formal work.

* * *

Harry was so far ahead of the rest of the class in dueling Al talked the Ministry into letting Harry go to the normal 2nd year Defense against the Dark Arts class in Romania in October instead of waiting a year. There were 5 classes, each an intensive 2 week course, that an Auror would need before becoming a Senior Auror. One class was a Memory Modification class usually given 1st year in England, that was going to be taught with British and American Aurors in November. There was a class on structures Magical and Muggle and combined. Many wards and other protective charms would work only with a totally magical house, or a totally Muggle house, or only with a house that had both Muggle and Magical construction. This class was usually taught in Egypt where there were structures that had been built over 4,000 years ago using both magic and Muggle technology that were still standing. There was a class on Magic and Muggle technology taught in North America, normally in San Francisco. There was an Advanced Potions class taught in China.

The last Saturday in September, late in the afternoon, after Quidditch practice and lunch, Harry and Ginny were back in their room. Harry knew he had to tell Ginny about his upcoming schedule, and the trips he was going to have to be taking. Harry explained in great detail what courses he had to be taking, and how he was going to have to be gone for four two week long courses, including one in a couple of weeks. "Kingsley wants me to go through all these courses as soon as possible."

"You'll be gone for weeks at a time!" Ginny said. "I thought that after we were married I wouldn't have to be away from you for weeks at a time!"

"Well, that's the schedule they've laid out for me" said Harry.

"Harry, do you really have to be gone so much this next year?" she said . "I can not remember my father having to go on long trips."

"Your father was never in training to be an Auror" said Harry.

"Can you promise me that you will not have to travel after this year?" she asked.

"No. I think this year will be the worst, but I have no idea what kind of assignments I will have. Can you promise you will not have to be away from me when you join the Harpies?" asked Harry.

Ginny responded "If I join the Harpies. No, of course not. There are foreign games where I will have to be away, and I understand there are training sessions where we have to stay in the dormitory and not at home. It's just not the kind of life I dreamed of. It's not the life my parents had for most of the time I was growing up.

Harry, what did you expect our life together would be like? Did you expect so much travel? What did you expect your career would like?"

Harry answered "I don't know. Anything is better than living in a closet under the stairs. Anything is better than knowing that either Voldemort, that is Tom Riddle or I would have to die. I'm just going to do my best with what comes my way and not try to get my hopes up and plan for something that may not happen. I just am counting on the future always having you in it, whatever you are doing and whatever I am doing."

"Do you imagine us with children some day?" asked Ginny with a smile.

Harry answered 'With Teddy almost every weekend we already sort of have a child. I would really like to have our own children some day, but only when you are ready to be a mother."

Ginny replied "I hope you are not traveling when we become parents! I love being married but it's not exactly like I imagined it."

If Harry's life was getting more and more complicated, Ginny's was not. She was a student, plus head of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, plus the DA but she was really not leading the DA. (Dennis Creevey was, despite his age.) Her biggest problem was that Harry was going to have to be gone at least 8 weeks over the next 12 months. As Harry was explaining the schedule Al and Kingsley had worked out for Harry (with a reluctant agreement of Robards) Ginny was wondering how "never leave me" had turned into "Harry is going to be traveling away from me for weeks at a time."

* * *

The 2nd Saturday in October was the first Quidditch game of the season. The first big surprise was that a representative of the Firebolt Broom Company, Hudson Harrison, was there to adjust Ginny's broom both before and after the match. The second surprise was that the Harpies had sent a scout to look at Ginny fly.

The Slytherin team was terrible. There were too many people that had not come back to Slytherin, and Ginny was at her top form. The two beaters seemed to be watching Ginny more than the other chasers, not that it mattered. Shortly before the end of the game both beaters flew at her like they were trying to take her out, but she easily escaped.

It was no surprise that Gryffindor won. Before the seeker caught the snitch the score was 180 to 40, with Ginny scoring 80 points and assisting on most of the rest of the other points. She also helped misdirect the opposing seeker.

Just after the game had ended the two Slytherin beaters again went after Ginny. This time she was not watching out for them, and did not notice them until they were almost on top of her. They were flying at her and at each other, and Ginny flipped upside down avoiding their bats, except that the two bats hit her right knee at the same time. The beaters were flying so fast they knocked each other off their brooms, and they were caught as they fell to the ground.

Ginny flew a looping roll towards the ground, blood streaming out of her knee. She landed as if she was going to stand on both feet, but immediately collapsed. Madam Pomfrey was there almost immediately, and she stopped the flow of blood and had Harry carry Ginny up to the hospital wing.

Once there Madam Pomfrey made sure Ginny was unconscious, and examined the shattered knee for some time. She eventually composed a note and left. A short time later two healers from St, Mungo's, a witch and wizard, were there.

Madam Pomfrey told Harry "We have to leave. There are going to do the best they can to repair the knee."

"I thought you could fix almost anything" Harry said. "Certainly something as simple as a knee."

"Is that why you were always here, Mr. Potter?" Madam Pomfrey asked. "You thought I could fix anything? And as soon as you were not in school you give your name to Ginny so we have another Potter, and another Potter in my beds. I suppose since she has your name she's going to have your record of injuries as well. Merlin help us if you two send children to this school!"

"Maybe they will be more like my mum" Harry said.

Madam Pomfrey glared at Harry. "Like your mum was all sweetness and light? She was here from time to time. James and Lilly were well matched. Lilly was the only girl that could intimidate James."

"I thought my mum was nice" Harry said.

"One of the nicest persons I've ever met" Poppy answered. "Also a fierce competitor, a beater on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and in here with Quidditch injuries almost as often as you or your father."

Harry wanted to bring the conversation back to Ginny, and asked "Ginny's knee?"

"Shattered. Those idiots really destroyed it. I got the best help I could to put it back together, but I am not going to give you any promises. You might as well tell her parents and your friends. She is going to be here all tomorrow and probably on crutches for a week or more. No telling how well it is going to heal."

Harry went out to tell Ron and Hermione, and the Aurors.

Jim and Sue Shook were there, and Sue said "I'm not at all sure I like trying to protect Ginny when she is playing an inherently dangerous game. The Headmistress and the Aurors are both trying to find out who put those two idiots up to attacking Ginny like that, but Quidditch is dangerous and there is only so much we can do to protect her."

"I know" Harry said. "She loves it. I don't want to take Quidditch away from her, but it worries me a little too."

A short time later both Arthur and Molly showed up. "We heard what happened to Ginny's knee" Molly said. "Does Poppy have it fixed yet?"

"She brought in a couple of specialists from St. Mungo's" Harry said. "Madam Pomfrey is worried about the knee."

"Oh dear" Molly said, a worried look on her face. "Poppy's really worried if she brought in help."

"She said something about my mum being in the infirmary from time to time, like she was 'not all sweetness and light' and 'she and my dad were well matched.'"

"Your mum really had a temper" said Molly, laughing. "She was the only one who could intimidate your dad, and she sure had his number."

"From Snape's memories I got the idea that they didn't like each other until, I don't know when" Harry said.

"More like Ron and Hermione" Arthur said, "from what people told me"

"What?" said Ron, who with Hermione had just walked in.

Arthur said "From what people told me James and Lilly were a little like you and Hermione, not exactly boyfriend and girlfriend but always picking at each other. You two" looking right at Ron and Hermione "never could leave the other alone."

Ron and Hermione got ready to counter this, looked at each other, grabbed each other's hands and sort of wrestled a little, and started to laugh. Finally Hermione turned to Harry and said "How's Ginny?"

"The knee is pretty bad. A couple of specialists from St. Mungo's are working on it."

"The Aurors are questioning the two blokes from Slytherin" Ron said. "I wanted to stay and tell them everything I saw, and see what would happen. I think they are going to be taken to the Ministry, and I think their parents are going to be questioned too."

"Anything else?" asked Harry.

Ron looked glum. "They are talking about getting bodyguards for Hermione and me, at least when we leave 'safe space.' There is usually an Auror close by when I am at the store. You're a dangerous friend to have, it seems. I hope we catch all of those idiots and put them away for life, or kill them deader than a smashed spider."

About this time a gray haired wizard walked out. "Healer Robinson" he announced. "There were some pretty nasty spells on those beater bats, but we've got the knee put back together. Ginny will be able to walk on it, and play Quidditch. I hope she's a little gentle on it, not that I've much hope for that. Molly, just how many times did you heal broken bones on your daughter?"

"Broken, cracked, bruised, I lost count long ago" Molly said. "She was as bad as any of the boys; never very gentle with her body."

"I always knew she was tough" Harry said with pride.

"Female knees aren't as tough as male knees" healer Robinson said.

"Why?" asked Harry.

"Female hips are different" healer Robinson said. "Female hips move differently than male hips."

Ron took out both hands and motioned and said "Back and forth and up and down, bloody beautiful" as he looked at Hermione, and then got real red in the face. Hermione got embarrassed too, but from the smile on her face you could tell she was pleased too.

"Because the hips are more flexible, wider for child bearing, the knee is weaker. I'm just worried that Ginny will damage that knee again, because it's going to be weaker than the other one" healer Robinson said. "You can only do so much damage to a joint, even with magic, before it starts to give you problems. Ginny will be all right as long as she's a little gentle with that knee."

No one could imagine Ginny gentle with her body, but they all trouped in to see Ginny, who was waking up.

"We won, didn't we?" was the first thing out of Ginny's mouth. Everybody nodded yes. "Those idiots attack me after the game was over. What were they thinking? That's not fair!" Ginny said.

"We don't think it had to do with the game" Ron said. "The Aurors are questioning them like they wanted to hurt you because of Harry and not being on the side of Vold…Riddle and the Pure Bloods."

"Shouldn't have let my guard down, then" Ginny said. "Is the knee fixed? Can I get up and go down to the victory celebration now?"

"Robinson and Robinson at your service" the witch healer said. "The knee was damaged beyond the ability of Poppy to fix it, and it really pushed our skills. You are going to need to stay here overnight, and we are going to be taking turns watching the knee and doing healing spells on it. We think we can get it back to functioning reasonably well, but it is never going to be the same."

"Oh Boggarts, excuse me Mum, Dad. I will be able to play Quidditch, won't I?" Ginny promptly replied.

"You should be able to play Quidditch" the witch said. "As long as you don't damage that knee again we should be able to keep it working reasonably well for a long time."

"So I can't leave until tomorrow morning?" Ginny asked. "I hope Harry can stay here. He's leaving tomorrow for a couple of weeks and I had hoped … we … could …"

"How long have you been married, Ginny?" the witch asked, laughing.

"A couple of months" she sheepishly replied.

The witch looked at her with more amusement than sympathy. "Harry can stay in the room, but not in your bed. It's hard to do what I think you want to do without jostling the knee. Be a little patient."

"I know how patient my sister is … not. I'm leaving" Ron said as he pulled Hermione out of the room.

"We'd better be going too" Molly said. "Good luck to both of you."

"Damn, shit, boggarts and bollocks and all the swear words mum doesn't want to know I know" Ginny scowled. Ginny and Harry held hands and gently kissed, holding the kiss for a long time. Eventually the witch and wizard interrupted, examining the knee again and doing spells over it. They put the leg into some sort of contraption to protect it and keep it gently moving.

"Ginny, you need to rest, to sleep now" the wizard said. "Resting the next twelve hours while we gently move the knee is really the best way to get it to heal.

"All right" Ginny said in resignation. "Go back to our room, Harry, and get ready for your trip. I'll see you in the morning."

"See you in the morning, beautiful Ginny" Harry said as he took his leave.

Harry added Ginny's playing Quidditch to the list of things he regularly worried about.


	21. Ch 21 Romania

Ch 21, Romania

Thanks to my new Beta readers MinistryMalcontent and Cognitur (on the SYIE site), and to Quintaped71, PokePotterfan93 and robydawg on the FanFiction net site for their help with this chapter.

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Sunday afternoon, October 11, Harry left for Romania. Harry left just after Ginny was released to go back to their rooms, on crutches. Madam Pomfrey had told her she was going to be on crutches for at least a week while the knee healed. A chill rain was blowing in solid gray sheets across the surface of the Black Lake to batter against the windows of the ancient castle as Harry made a final check of his luggage. The icy rage that gnawed at his stomach made the weather seem mild by comparison. His enemies had struck at Ginny to hurt him, and they had somehow managed to find Hogwarts students to do their dirty work! Were the Slytherin Beaters willing pawns, or had they somehow been compelled to play their parts? He wanted nothing more than to get the answer to that question himself, but that was not to be. Harry hated to leave an injured Ginny but his schedule had been set, and there was nothing he could do to help Ginny heal in any case.

Ginny's schedule was set by school, and the only difference for her was that she was going to be alone in their bedroom for the next 12 nights; Harry was not going to be back until late Friday the 23rd. She did have permission to leave Hogwarts to go to Grimmauld Place when she got a page on the wizard mobile, because at Grimmauld Place she could walk outside and quickly get to an area where she could get reception. She just needed to make sure one of the Aurors who shadowed her was with her when she left the Hogwarts grounds.

Harry arrived at the Ministry in Romania late Sunday. The Ministry building was a somewhat disheveled Medieval looking stone building.

In contrast to the Ministry building itself, carefully concealed in one of the few historic neighborhoods remaining in the center of Bucharest, the flat to which the Ministry representative directed Harry was high in the upper levels of a row of drab, concrete tower blocks. There were no elevators, neither Muggle nor magical.

At least I'll be able to Apparate up to this room from now on, Harry thought as he forced open the recalcitrant door to his assigned flat. The room's interior was only marginally more welcoming. Charms and transfiguration had been lavishly applied to provide a comfortable decor, but they failed to conceal the shoddy workmanship of the underlying structure. Magical lights substituted for inoperable Muggle electrical fittings. Pipes banged and gurgled noisily in the corners of the room.

"Bugger," Harry muttered as his thoughts flew back to the familiar, comfortable suite at Hogwarts where Ginny waited for him. Grimmauld Place was more welcoming than this. His spirits, already low from having to leave his wife behind, plummeted even further. Harry tried to call Ginny to let her know that he had arrived safely, but she didn't answer right away. While he was waiting Harry started to add additional silencing charms to the walls of his accommodations.

Ginny had to notify Tammy Lewis, the Auror who was usually with her at night, and then together she and Tammy took the floo to Grimmauld place. It was a half hour of bother before she was finally able to call Harry. Harry didn't answer right away, but he did text JUST A MOMENT. Finally he came on line.

"The apartments are magical enough that I have to stand outside to get a call," Harry said.

"Sorry it took me so long to call you," Ginny said. "It's just harder to get around on these bloody crutches. Are you safe?"

"I should be safe enough," Harry said. "There is some pretty good security for the students anyway, and as usual I have an extra Auror. How are you doing?"

"The leg hurts," Ginny said. "I'm feeling just a little insecure after the attack. I really don't want to complain, but please call every night. I love you and already miss you."

"I miss you too, Ginny," Harry said. "It's amazing just how quickly you get used to talking every morning and night."

Harry thought that Ginny was not the only one feeling insecure about the attack and Ginny playing Quidditch. It was a sometimes brutal and dangerous game, and the very courage that he so admired in his Ginny also worried him.

Everyone had to be at breakfast at 7:00 AM, and by 8:00 AM the classes started. They were held in the same Ministry building complex, an island of magical and somewhat medieval buildings in the middle of the city.

The teachers had each of the students tell the class something about themselves. There was a fair amount of bragging. Several of the students had won duelling contests where they had gone to school. There were four Russians, two witches and two wizards, tall and blond, with fancy robes and arrogant attitudes, and six North Americans dressed in Muggle clothes, supremely confident that the combinations of the different schools and their different ways of teaching duelling gave them an advantage. There were a couple of students from South America, and the rest from Europe. Harry and a French witch were the only single people from their country.

When it came time for Harry to introduce himself he just said, "I'm Harry Potter and I am an Auror trainee from The United Kingdom."

The last person to introduce herself was the French Witch, who said, "I am Laura DuPont, an Auror candidate from France. My mother is American, and I went to school both in the United States and France, graduating from Beauxbatons. You have to be at the top of your class in duelling to become an Auror in France!"

Harry took a good look at Laura. She was about as short as Ginny, but she was a lot curvier. She was noticeably bigger on top, just as thin in the middle, and significantly rounder on the bottom as well. The pink blouse she was wearing had a scooped neckline showing enough bust to show that all that shape was real. Her skirt was tight around her bottom, showing a beautiful pair of hips. She seemed to be somewhat of a flirt too.

During the morning they duelled against each other, one on one. Harry won all his matches. Even when he had to use unfamiliar spells he learned them easily, and although a few matches were a bit of a challenge for Harry in each duel he finally won.

After a quick lunch they duelled in pairs, trying to learn how to work with a partner. Harry and Laura were paired, and with Harry's help they won most of their matches. When they did not win sometimes Laura was disarmed, and then Harry had to fight two people at once, which he usually could do. Only once was he disarmed, against two instructors trying to demonstrate something.

Shortly after five they were given enough study material to keep them busy until night, and dismissed for dinner. Laura brushed up against Harry saying, "Tell me a little about yourself," in a coquettish way.

Harry was alarmed at how forward Laura was getting. He needed to put a stop to it right away! At the same time he did not want to be too blunt, but he needed to let Laura know that he was married and not in the market for a girlfriend. "Do you know Gabrielle Delacour?" Harry asked.

"She is a few years younger than I am, but I know who she is," Laura replied. "She is at Beauxbatons. How do you know her?"

"Her sister Fleur is married to my brother-in-law Bill Weasley," Harry responded. "I married Bill's sister Ginny."

"You're married?" Laura asked, astonished.

"Oh yes, very married!" Harry exclaimed, showing his rings. "As soon as we are done with dinner I need to go someplace where the magic is not too strong and use my mobile to call to Ginny. She has to go someplace herself to receive the call, but we have it worked out."

"How often will you call her?" Laura asked.

"Every night if I can," Harry replied.

Laura looked hard at Harry. "You're Harry Potter!" Laura finally said, rather quietly. "The Harry Potter who beat Lord Voldemort in a duel, one on one!"

"Call him Tom Riddle, he was just a man," Harry emphasized. "Don't tell anyone else. I'm kind of enjoying not being something special."

"You're by far the best dueller here, Harry," Laura said. "I don't think you are going to avoid being noticed. I know you had to learn a couple of new spells, and you were better than witches and wizards who already knew them right away."

"Thanks," Harry said. "Ever since the Battle I've had more power in my wand, and had a little trouble at first controlling it. It's kind of nice, really."

Right after dinner Harry left the compound and went across the street, followed by a nervous Auror, and called Ginny. When they finally spoke Harry said, "Hi, love. Glad you could get away and call. How are you? How is the knee?"

"It's a bother getting around on crutches, but I'm managing. The knee doesn't hurt too much. Nothing else new here," Ginny said. "How are your classes going?"

"Really well," Harry said enthusiastically. "I've learned several new spells already. We have things to study tonight, and should be learning more about why certain spells work tomorrow. We are duelling singly and in pairs, and learning how to duel as part of a pair is another useful skill I want to make sure our Aurors know."

"So did they pair you with a cute little witch?" asked Ginny.

"For some reason all of the pairs are witch wizard pairs," Harry replied. "Most of the other countries sent pairs, but for some reason France only sent one witch. She is pretty curvy. I made sure to tell her I am safely married!"

"So I shouldn't be worried about you with some curvy French witch when I am not going to be seeing you for almost two weeks!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Why would you be worried about me?" Harry asked, honestly confused.

"After all those witches wrote to you offering to be your girlfriend or wife or even to just have sex with you of course I'm worried," Ginny said.

Harry answered, "I've never wanted anyone else, not since we were first together."

Ginny replied, "I trust you, Harry, I really do, but I'm still jealous. I swear I'll Bat Bogy Hex any witch bitch who makes a pass for you."

"I haven't told Laura about your Bat Bogey Hex yet, but maybe I should," Harry laughed. "I think I'd better. If either of us is tempted the thought of your Bat Bogey Hex should keep us on the straight and narrow."

"I'd better hear from you every night, Harry," Ginny firmly retorted "You'd think I'd have gotten over all those witches who wrote to you after the Battle of Hogwarts, and I have, sort of, but I'm still jealous."

"The Auror guarding me is getting nervous, Ginny," Harry said.

Ginny replied, "We'd better go. Same time tomorrow?

"Probably," Harry said. "Every night. I love you."

"Love you too, Harry," Ginny said. 'Curvy witch partner' she thought as she took the Floo back to Hogwarts. 'The only thing worse is that she's a little curvy French witch, phlegm like Fleur. I shouldn't think badly of Fleur. She's turned out to be all right.' Ginny had a harder time getting to sleep than she normally did that night.

Harry went back into the compound. Laura was waiting, and asked, "What did Ginny say?"

"That I needed to tell you she has a mean Bat Bogy Hex, and not to even think about it, about me," a grinning Harry replied. "She's not kidding either! Even if I was tempted, which I'm really not, getting Ginny mad at you is a spectacularly bad idea."

"Thank you for the warning, Harry," Laura responded, trying to figure out just what Harry and Ginny's relationship was. There was something in the way Harry said it that made Laura feel that Harry really was not tempted. She also did not doubt that Harry's wife was jealous and not someone to be trifled with.

When Harry read the assignments he got excited. There was a lot of information on why certain spells did what they did, and why and how to use certain spells.

Harry tried to go right to sleep after reading his assignments, but sleep did not come easily. There was a lot of new material from the class. There was also Laura. Although Harry was not really tempted to cheat on Ginny it was hard not to remember Laura's shape. She had a very sexy shape and manner and … no, any thoughts along that line were stupid … two weeks away … put those thoughts out of your mind. Focus on Ginny, Harry thought.

The next two days were spent in duelling, with a lot more theory, more advanced spells and combination of spells. There was also a lot of analysis by the professors on your individual duelling style, what you did right and what needed more work."

Harry's thought that he would remain anonymous was shattered Tuesday morning when one of the Romanian students said, "Potter? Didn't you just defeat Lord Voldemort in a duel to the death, one on one? I heard he was wielding the Death Stick, and you beat him. Having you in this class is not fair!"

Harry had to acknowledge who he was, and try to downplay his abilities, something that was a little hard to do since he was obviously so good.

The middle of Wednesday a couple of wand makers came in to examine the wands and how you wielded it. Both were amazed when they analysed Harry's wand.

"This wand has been touched by the Elder Wand," one of them said.

"Who used the Elder Wand on this wand?" the other one asked Harry.

"I used it to repair this wand, which was broken," Harry said.

The first wizard said, "Every wand in the world traces their ancestry back to the first two wands. One, the Elder Wand, has been used for evil for most of the last thousand years, but Dumbledore used it for good. Wand Makers really want that wand in good hands again."

"The female wand is also missing, rumoured to be involved in evil," the other Wand Maker said.

Harry was not inclined to tell anyone where the Elder Wand was. Something about the way the wand makers talked about the Elder Wand made Harry nervous, but Harry had a free floating anxiety about a world of things. Maybe Riddle, Voldemort was gone but to Harry the world was still not a very safe place.

Thursday they started a new class, on identifying dark magic. There were spells you could use, but if you were good you could just feel if some magic was dark. Harry was helped by the experiences he had been through with Professor Dumbledore and Tom Riddle.

"A lot of magic you are going to be dealing with is neither good nor bad. It all depends on how it is used," one of the professors lectured. "There are a lot of ways of hiding doors and other types of entrances, and there is nothing intrinsically bad about most of them. A large part of identifying dark magic is just making you sensitive to magic in general."

Harry had been sensitized to magic in places in his previous seven years, and when they were led to several walls Harry just had to hold his hands up to the walls, sometimes with his wand and sometimes without it, and remember the cave where Tom Riddle's locket was supposed to be, and how it felt, and he could usually feel where the magic was. A little help with a couple of spells from the instructors and Harry was as good as anyone else in the class, and sometimes quite a bit better, at identifying magic.

The classes for identifying magic were held all over the city, and in caves and odd nooks around the city. Frequently they were in tight quarters. Several times Harry could feel where a door was and Laura did not have a clue. Eventually Harry found out that by holding Laura's hands in his, putting her hands on the wall but standing behind her with his hands touching hers, he could point out where the magic was. It was an extremely effective teaching technique. Laura had such a curvy shape that it was also erotic, to Harry's great consternation. It was hard not to enjoy their bodies touching. Friday afternoon was particularly difficult for Harry, as the exercises seemed to involve a lot of touching. Harry and Laura finished up a little early, and sat down next to each other as the rest of the class finished up.

"You're a real Puritan, Harry," Laura said. "You're afraid to touch me and enjoy it, even though there is no way I want to take the place of your Ginny. Let me talk to Ginny, let her know how good a man you are, and that I'm honestly no threat."

"She's pretty jealous, Laura," Harry said. "It may backfire."

"I'd like to talk to the witch that's so thoroughly won your heart anyway," Laura said.

By this time Harry and the Auror who picked up shadowing him as he left the compound had found what they thought was a very secure place for Harry to make calls on the mobile, at a booth in a tacky little restaurant in a Muggle section of town right next to the apartments for the students, and Harry and Laura, followed by the Auror, went to the restaurant and ordered some coffee. Harry called Ginny about four thirty, two to two and a half hours before he usually called. Within ten minutes Ginny was standing in a front window at Grimmauld Place, where after some curse removal and other remodelling Ginny found out she could receive calls without standing outside.

"Hello Ginny," Harry said when they had established a connection. "How are you?"

"Standing on crutches in construction mess," Ginny replied. "I hope all this construction is worth it. I don't want to live in the old Black house, but I'm having a hard time visualizing what the house is going to be like when it's finished. Why the early call?"

"We got out of class early, and the next couple of days are going to be a little easier," Harry responded. "Laura DuPont wanted to talk to you."

"Oh," said Ginny, and then waited. After a brief uncomfortable period of silence Harry handed the phone to Laura.

Laura cheerily greeted Ginny with, "Hello Ginny. I just want you to know you have the best husband! Monday I was trying to figure out just how available he was, and Monday night at dinner he made it known right away that he was happily married and not even tempted to fool around." There was silence at the other end of the line, although Laura could tell someone was listening. Finally Laura said, "You know Harry is something of a Puritan. Do you know what that means?"

"No," Ginny said curtly.

Laura replied, "A Puritan is someone who sexually real straight and narrow, like no sex before marriage and certainly no fooling around. It's cute how awkward he is around other women. He's a real good man, and I just hope I can find a husband as nice and as faithful as Harry." There was another long period of silence. "She isn't very talkative, is she?" asked Laura of Harry, although with the phone held so Ginny could hear.

"Oh Ginny can be very talkative," Harry said. "I just don't think she knows what to say to you."

"May I talk to Harry, please," Ginny said. Laura passed the mobile on to Harry.

"Hello again," Harry said.

"What does that witch want with me?" asked Ginny.

"I don't think Laura wants anything from you, Ginny," Harry replied. "I've talked about you, how much I love you and admire you, how brave and tough you are. 'She must be quite a woman,' Laura has said to me, and, 'I'd like to meet her.'" There was another long pause. "How are you, Ginny?" Harry finally asked.

"Lonely," Ginny replied. "Hermione and I talk, but mostly about school work, and Hanna and I talk some although she is mostly busy with Neville, but at night it's real lonely and its lonely getting up in the morning. I wish you were not going to be gone another week." After another pause she said, "I know you have to go to these classes. I'm not trying to stop you from becoming the best Auror you can be."

"I'm sorry if my being gone is making you unhappy," Harry said.

"You have to do this, just like we had a lot we had to do last year," Ginny said. "I'm sorry if I'm not happier about it. Maybe it's because I'm still on crutches and, oh I don't know, nothing seems quite right. Did your classes go well today?"

"Yes," Harry replied. "The classes are worth it. I'm continuing to learn, and so much of the learning builds on itself. I can see how important it is for us to stay here and keep working identifying magic. It really does get easier the more you do it."

"So they are worried that one good shag and you'll forget all that you've learned?" Ginny retorted, starting to wind up, and then louder, "If I wasn't stuck at school, with strict limits on how much I can leave, I'd rush right over there and, … with that book and all the spells for endurance … and wear you out with … can that Laura hear what I'm saying?"

"I'm really not supposed to leave, Ginny," Harry said, "but I will check and see if you can come over tomorrow night. I miss you too!"

"I really want to, Harry, but it's just a lot of bother for a couple of hours, and I'm going to be on crutches another week which makes getting around and everything more difficult, and … Oh forget it," Ginny said, her voice cracking. "Is that Laura … person still there?"

Laura was trying very hard not to laugh, and getting very red and looking a little embarrassed. Harry looked at Laura and quietly said to Ginny, "I don't think she heard much, but you might try a little harder not to talk quite so loud. Why don't I call you again after dinner? You can tell me more about how your classes are going, and I'll tell you a little more about my classes."

Ginny started to yell, "YOU TELL THAT LAURA THAT I CAN BE NASTAND MEAN AND VINDICTIVE, AND THAT I HAVE A LARGE REPATOUR OF HEXES BESIDES MY BAT BOGEY HEX!" and then much quieter, "I'm sorry Harry, I'm just not at my best right now. Please call back tonight! I just miss you."

"Tonight, love you," Harry said as he watched the mobile disconnect.

"They tortured her at Hogwarts last year," Harry said to Laura. "She has two big scars[MSOffice2] ." Harry had gotten a little embarrassed. "I was working on things with Ginny's brother and his fiancé and didn't see Ginny for the better part of a year. She was at several major battles; I think I've told you that. She is tougher than any woman I can imagine, but being gone and almost loosing me more than once and she's a little, she really misses me when I'm gone."

"I guess the sex isn't bad either," Laura kidded Harry.

Harry wished he could get Laura's mind off sex. He laughed, showing a little embarrassment. "She's pretty eager! There are a lot of very good things about being married to that fiery red-head."

Harry and Ginny did talk again after dinner. . Harry was worried about Ginny; she just wasn't handling him being gone very well, which was unusual for her. Maybe it was because she was hurt. Harry was used to being hurt, but not used to having the woman he loved hurt. He went back to the tacky little apartment; in so many ways it was a palace compared to the closet he spent so many years in, but it sure wasn't home.

Sunday morning Harry was able to take enough time off to call the family at the New Burrow. Ginny had permission to use the Floo to go to the New Burrow for the Sunday morning family breakfast.

Shortly after the phone call Fleur found Ginny sort of pacing back and forth, still on the crutches, obviously very uptight. "Miss Arry?" Fleur asked. Ginny nodded yes. "You look very upset, Ginny" said Fleur. Ginny stared back at Fleur with a furious look on her face. Fleur suggested, "Ginny, there are healers that ave potions that can help you relax, and many other things that healers ave to help you."

Ginny exploded. "I am not crazy! I don't need any help! I know what you think. I got married too young! I'm just not grown up enough! Poor Ginny just can't handle her Harry being gone! I AM NOT CRAZY. I'M FINE. I CAN HANDLE THIS WHY SHOULD I CARE IF HARRY IS IN CLASS WITH A CURVY FRENCH WITCH AND I'M HERE ALONE. JUST LEAVE ME ALONE…. Oh Fleur, what's wrong with me?" At this point Ginny was close to tears, and she let Fleur come over and hold her in her arms. The rest of the family had heard the tirade and was either in the room or looking into the room.

Fleur said, "Do not tell Arry," to the rest of the family. "I talk to Ginny alone." Then she said to Ginny, "I am going to have a healer see you in infirmary Monday. Promise me you will go." Ginny looked at her sister-in-law for a little, but finally nodded yes.

By this time Ginny had gotten control of her emotions, and said, "I'm really sorry, Fleur. I shouldn't have blown up like that."

"Is all right, Is hard when your man is gone," Fleur responded.

"Why is it so hard?" asked Ginny.

"Why?" asked Fleur back at Ginny. "Tell me why is so hard."

"Harry was gone all of last year, and I felt abandoned and left out," Ginny replied. "I'm much more secure in our love now. I used to get worried when other witches wrote to Harry and wanted him; now I'm just mad at them, but I'm not worried about Harry at all."

Ginny took a couple of big breaths, and stared at Fleur some more. "I just miss Harry. Talking every day helps a little; maybe it helps a lot. I'm just a real physical person, and I really like, it's like, you're married, Fleur, the physical part of marriage. The holding and even casual touching. The sex. Ron and Hermione are not even in the same bed every night, they can go two or three days without seeing each other, but I want Harry every night. I'm glad we are studying together but at the end of the night it's like my bedtime routine is making love and then going to sleep, like I just can't sleep alone. Is that a little extreme? Not normal? It's like everything that's bad is gone when he makes love to me."

"Is all right," Fleur responded. "Most couples don't every night, but is all right. Does Arry mind?"

"Only once in a while when he is real tired," said Ginny. "Mostly he thinks it's …, I think he really likes it! Sometimes in the middle of the day or a morning when neither of us has to do anything we … and it's not always me. Harry gets a wicked grin on his face and I'm sure he likes it too."

"Is always all right with you?" asked Fleur.

"Mostly," responded Ginny. "The couple of times I said … I asked … like I just indicated that we would do it at night but maybe … and he ready did not seem to mind. And around my period, there are spells that can help, and you can still do it, and if it is messier you can clean it up, but sometimes I'd just rather not. He is so considerate, Fleur, maybe more considerate than I am. I miss him."

Maybe I just need another woman to talk to when Harry's gone. I so admire you. You just always seem to be in control. It's hard to imagine anything bad ever happening to you, anything that you couldn't handle."

Fleur looked at Ginny. "Fleur the perfect?" she asked.

Ginny nodded ye.

"Fleur, left France because could not live there anymore," Fleur said. "Fleur the angry."

"Why Fleur?" Ginny asked, her mind not totally on herself anymore.

Fleur gave a big sigh, and it looked like she was having a hard time getting the story out. "Don't tell. Bill, he knows. He knew after first date. Many people know in France, but not so much here. Last year at Beauxbatons, raped. Sex is so good with Veela, Fleur is so beautiful, Son … of … betch brag how he going to, and then he RAPE me, in front of friends.

"I tell. I angry. I make big scene. He pay big fine, dowry, bride price, but no prison. Quidditch seeker hero, Rich … SON … OF … BETCH. Boyfriend break up because I not virgin, I ruined. Another son of betch."

Fleur took Ginny's hands in her hands. "Bill is soo good. He make me feel beautiful again. Veela girl make her man happy, after he very very patient with angry Veela girl. I go to see healers too. Is still hard sometimes."

By this time Fleur was crying, and the two women hugged each other and sat with each other for no small amount of time.

"Talk to the healers," Fleur finally said, and Ginny nodded yes again.

Monday morning Ginny was notified that on her first free period she had an appointment in the infirmary. Between some potions and a little counseling starting twice the first week and following once a week for the rest of the fall Ginny got control of her emotions. She began to understand that Harry was very even tempered, and she was not. She knew that she had a volatile temper, but never understood that her emotional highs and lows were just much greater than Harry's. Just one more area where life was going to take work, not just magically be "Happily Ever After." She needed to be happy for Harry and happy herself even if Harry was busy.

The sessions with the healers really did Ginny a lot of good. Her biggest problem, she discovered, what not that she could not handle Harry being gone, but that she had expectations that her life would be more like some cross between her parents' life and her Happily Ever After dreams, and Harry being gone over a weekend was just so unexpected that it real upset her.

During the second week Harry realized that some of the discussions he had been having with Al Van Lente and the other Aurors over the last 2 weeks were giving him a lot of insight into what to look for, and also what questions to ask. It was like everything that not only Dumbledore but everybody else was trying to teach him was relevant to the classes.

Most of the duelling took place in a room in the Ministry complex that was maybe half as big as the Great Hall at Hogwarts, but with a ceiling much lower than the ceiling of the Great Hall. It was a stone room like most of the rooms in the castle, with a few tapestries on the walls, and a series of raised walkways that varied in width from six feet to twenty feet wide and thirty to a hundred feet long.

The duelling got harder and harder, but Harry was handling it well, winning most of his matches and not losing any of them outright. Thursday morning they were in an especially fierce two on two duel, Harry and Laura against a Russian pair. Suddenly a witch and wizard that Harry did not recognize joined the fight, jumping on the platform behind Harry and Laura, and Harry could see the distinctive jets of the Avada Kedavra curse coming at him from four directions. He set up a shield charm around Laura and himself, doubting that it would work against four curses.

For a brief moment Harry remembered the moment when Riddle had sent the Avada Kedavra curse at him and killed his Horcrux, the awful feeling that he was going to die and lose everything dear to him.

There was some sort of shield that suddenly came over each of the witches and wizards that had thrown the Avada Kedavra curse, catching and deflecting the curse and confining the curse throwers. There was a sudden rush of other activity. Harry told Laura, "Stay on guard. I have no idea what is going on, but I'm almost sure this is not part of our lesson."

"Do you think someone really wanted to kill us?" Laura asked.

"I think someone wanted to kill me," Harry said as he turned around. "Remember, back to back, touch my back to feel which way I am turning, and keep your eyes open for anything suspicious."

Laura put her back right against Harry's back and kept her eyes flitting around trying to take in everything as Harry turned around two complete times. Harry carefully surveyed what was going on, finally ending up looking at the four who had thrown the curses and were now confined. Harry was at the same time really mad and terrified.

All of the other students were being led out of the duelling area, and Harry was almost sure their memories were being modified as they left the area. The staff made no move to remove Harry. When everybody was gone someone Harry didn't recognize came over and said, "For the Romanian Wizarding Community I want to apologize. We have good charms and spells in place to catch someone who tries to throw a killing curse, but an attack like this is almost unheard of.

"Oh too bad, someone just tried to kill you," Harry yelled. "Don't you dare try to modify my memories."

Do you recognize any of these witches and wizards?"

"Those two are two of the Russian students," Harry said. "I have no idea who the others are."

"We are trying to find out why they attack you," the Romanian witch said, "but so far they are not cooperating, which is not surprising."

The witch that was in charge of the classes came over and said, "The duelling room has special charms to keep killing curses from killing anyone and capturing anyone throwing one. There are also special spells to keep you from remembering this."

"DON'T YOU DARE wipe my memory, whatever you did to the rest of the class," Harry said forcefully. "I'm the one they tried to kill, and I need to know this."

"Laura?" asked the witch.

"Bind her to secrecy but let her remember," Harry said. "Even if she is just my partner for another couple of days she has to remember." The Romanians agreed to Harry's request.

Later the witch took Harry aside. "Please do not mention the spell in the duelling room, Harry. We have caught several potential assassins with this spell. We are aware you have enemies, and have taken special precautions with you."

Harry and the witch had a couple more discussions on the incident that week. "You have made a lot of enemies by killing Voldemort," she said.

"Tom Riddle had a lot of contacts all over the continent, it seems," Harry said. "Were they his allies, or just supporters of a pure blood agenda?"

"Some were just criminals," she replied. "He was in contact with some in the Wizarding Community in contact with Dementors in Asia. The North American Ministry kept him out of North America, but the Americas have their own problems."

Harry asked, "Why do they want to kill me? It's not like I'm out to arrest or kill every dark wizard in the world. I'm going to be thrilled just to capture the dark wizards in Britain and keep my little corner of the world safe."

"You're important and will probably have great influence well beyond your little island kingdom of Great Britain, Harry," the witch replied, to Harry's discomfort.

When Harry and Ginny talked that night and Ginny asked about his day Harry said, "A little more excitement than usual, but the Romanian Ministry has everything under control. The duelling got a little out of hand. I'm glad the Romanians have experience in this and are prepared for people trying to use forbidden curses in the excitement of the moment, because no one was hurt. It just got a little exciting."

"You weren't in any danger, where you?" Ginny asked, getting worried about Harry's safety again.

"Probably not in any more danger than we are already in," Harry replied. "I am inclined to make sure I have an Auror guarding me, and you need to make sure you don't lose your escorts either."

To Harry's great surprise Fleur contacted Harry towards the end of the second week. "Hello, Arry, is Fleur," she said on the mobile.

"It's good to hear from you Fleur, but why are you calling?" asked Harry.

"Ginny, she needs a little more Arry time, maybe this weekend, Arry," Fleur said. "Do not tell her that Fleur said anything, but she really is having a hard time you being gone two weeks. Maybe a hotel vacation Saturday. I tell McGonagall, so you can take er away."

"I don't know a good hotel to take her to," Harry said.

"I have one," Fleur replied. "I will have reservations Saturday afternoon, night. See me before you go back to Hogwarts."

"Thank you, Fleur. Is Ginny really that bad?" Harry replied.

"Ginny will be all right, but has been hard on her. She will get better," Fleur reassured Harry.

Friday morning Ginny was finally able to walk without crutches. All week she had been putting more and more weight on the knee. It was still stiff, but it seemed to be working. Ginny was told that as long as she did not injure it again it would probably not give her too much trouble, but that it was never going to be normal.

Friday afternoon as the classes came to a close all the students were given a chance to tell the others what the class had taught them. As before there was a lot of bragging, and students telling how they learned they had to 'hate' the opponent and want them totally vanquished, how important winning and victory was. There was a lot of talk about the glory of winning in battle.

Harry sat in a corner bothered by all the bragging. Few of the students had been in a real life or death battle, and he got the feeling that none of them had seen the death and destruction he had. This duelling was all just a game. Finally one of the students asked "Well, Potter, how did it feel when you killed Lord Voldemort. Wasn't that the most satisfying, proudest moment in your life?"

Harry got up and looked at the class. "It felt like shit," he said. "Everybody talks like all this duelling is some sort of fun game."

Harry paced back and forth a couple of times, trying to calm down, trying to compose his thoughts.

"I've faced death more times that I can count," he finally said. "I was scared every time. Winning felt like, like I'd gotten away this time but … I still can't believe that the man Tom Riddle is gone.

"Part of me did die when Riddle cursed me, in the forest, before the battle you talked about. And when I died I saw what Riddle was, what he would become if he died. A pathetic shrunken thing, like a baby with so little humanity left that there was no person left, just the shell that once was a person. Is that what you want? To kill and kill and in the end kill yourself?

"There is no glory in killing. Just survival, if you are lucky.

"How do you tell a mother that you saw her son die? I had to. It doesn't feel good at all. How would you tell a mother you killed her son, her daughter? A wife or husband that you killed their spouse? A child that you killed their parent?

"It's not just winning, it's how you win. It's capturing the evil witches and wizards, but then having compassion on them and their families. It's not becoming as bad as the people we are fighting.

"There is no glory in killing. You are just a scared person trying to survive, or else you are in danger of becoming what we are fighting, one of those bad people who loves killing.

"If one of you ever wins a duel but has to kill your opponent I will not say to you 'congratulations.' I will say 'I'm sorry' because that's how I feel."

Harry sat down, looking glum.

One of the students said, "Potter, don't try and tell me that you've never used an Unforgivable Curse."

Harry said. "I tried to use the Cruciatus Curse a couple of times, but it didn't work. I did use it once at the Battle of Hogwarts. I can't say I'm proud I used it. Thinking back I wish I hadn't used it, and that I had told others to confine the person but not to kill him.

"As Aurors my wish is that you never succumb to using an Unforgivable Curse, no matter how much you are provoked. I know I hope I never fail myself and use an Unforgivable again."

One of the instructors got up and said, "As an Auror I had to kill an opponent once. He was a very bad wizard.

"I then had to tell his wife and two little children. Two days later I found out that the wife had killed the children and then herself. Do you think I feel good about that victory? All I can think of is what I could have done short of killing him, how I could have done it differently?

"Thank you Harry. To the rest of you, I hope you learned enough that you can win without ever having to kill anyone."

Harry looked at the class. He thought some of the students were thinking about what they had heard, but others were too proud or arrogant to listen, and that made him sad and worried. 'There is no glory in killing,' he thought again.

Harry got back very late Friday October 23. He had in his hand information from Fleur on hotel reservations in London at one of the better hotels, one with an indoor pool and several good restaurants, with many other good restaurants and things to see close by. Harry and Ginny started out with a good deal of kissing and holding, and then Harry told Ginny, "I have permission to take you away with me from whenever we can leave tomorrow to Sunday night. I have reservations at a Muggle hotel with an indoor pool and plenty of good restaurants."

Ginny smiled a huge smile and replied, "I hope it has a good bed! I intend to spend some time with you making up to me for being gone for so long!"

"I'm sure that can be arranged," Harry gladly responded.

Saturday morning Ginny had Quidditch practice, the first time she had been able to practice herself since her injury, but Saturday afternoon Ginny and Harry left Hogwarts. They took the Floo to Grimmauld Place, and from there a ministry car picked them up and drove them to the hotel. The Aurors stayed a discrete distance away as Harry and Ginny went up to register and get their room keys.

The Hotel was a very large one, and even though she had been at the Ministry of Magic a number of times Ginny was not prepared for the size of the hotel. It was built around a large atrium, so there was a huge center section of the hotel open. At thirty four floors it was much taller than Hogwarts. It had two sets of elevators on the inside, with glassed in sides. Ginny was used to flying, but even so going up the elevator looking out the glass sides was a new experience. As they arrived at the top floor Ginny got out, looked over the railing at the atrium and the glass roof over it, the people eating and walking around down below, and said, "They built all this without magic?"

"Just Muggle science and engineering," Harry replied. As they got to their room Harry passed the card that served as a key through the slot and a light turned green, and then Harry opened the door. Ginny had never seen magic like that light turning green, and then the lock clicked. She looked at the card with a questioning look. "More Muggle magic," Harry said.

"Where is the bed?" Ginny asked as they went into the first room of the suite.

"I think through here," said Harry as he led Ginny into the next room.

"A bath tub in the bedroom," asked Ginny as she saw a large hot tub in the room.

"That's for two people to sit in and soak, and maybe play," Harry said with a lusty grin.

Ginny went over and looked into the hot tub, and got a big grin on her face. Then she went over and waved her wand at the king size bed and the covers came off. "You were gone twelve days, and you've only made up one," she said (referring to sex that morning) as she pulled Harry over to the bed. The kissed and made out, gradually removing clothes.

After they were only ten times behind they took a shower, then filled the hot tub and sat in that for about an hour, playing with each other. Finally Harry had Ginny as turned on as maybe she had ever been, and they quickly did drying spells and went back to the bed.

Later on in the afternoon they left the hotel room to investigate the hotel. They did find the indoor pool, with quite a number of people in it. Ginny looked at the swimming suits on the women and at Harry and said, "I need a new swimming suit." There was a shop in the hotel that sold some clothing, including swim wear. Ginny talked Harry into buying a small form fitting suit, and she purchased a rather revealing two piece suit. They also purchased bath robes to wear when they were going to and from the pool.

Harry and Ginny went up to their room to change. When they were in the suits Ginny looked at how little of her bottom and breasts were covered and blushed and said, "I'm not going to wear this when we are swimming at the pond. Mother would kill me if she saw me in this."

"Does your mother swim?" asked Harry.

"Oh yes, she has a one piece that covers up almost everything," Ginny replied.

After an hour in the pool they went back to the room to change. They put on the nicest Muggle clothes they had and went down to dinner.

Ginny looked at the eight page menu at the restaurant and almost panicked. "How do I choose from all this?" she asked. "I don't even know what a lot of this is!"

Between Aunt Petunia's cook books and experiments, not all of which were that successful, and all the traveling with Bill during the summer, Harry had a much better idea of what was on the menu, and he led Ginny through her options. The dinner was as good as anything Ginny had ever had, and it was by far the most elegant restaurant she had ever been in. She left the restaurant feeling like a princess, and the frustration of Harry being gone was beginning to leave her.

They did talk about the class. Ginny could tell there was something bothering Harry as they talked, and she gently tried to get it out of him. Finally Friday after dinner Ginny saw Harry staring out the window, that 'something is bothering me' expression on his face. Instead of trying to distract Harry she looked at him for a number of minutes, and finally said, "You have that brooding look on your face again. What's bothering you, Harry?"

"You do know me," Harry replied.

"I'm married to you!" Ginny responded. "I love you. I know you brood over all kinds of things. What is it this time?"

Harry shook his head. "Just some of the students in class seemed to think there was something glorious about killing your opponent. I hope I never have to kill anyone or order anyone else to kill someone," Harry said. "You kill a little of yourself whenever you kill someone."

"You are a very good person, Harry Potter," Ginny replied. "I know you would never do anything wrong."

"I used the Cruciatus Curse at the Battle of Hogwarts," Harry said. "I'm not proud I did. I tried to use it against Bellatrix at the Battle of the Ministry, but I guess I didn't have enough hate in me. I'm ashamed that I had enough hate then."

"Do you think you have enough hate now?" Ginny asked.

"Probably not," Harry admitted. "I hope not."

"See, you are a very good person," Ginny said again. She distracted Harry with more love making before they finally went, to sleep, knowing how hard it was to keep Harry from brooding.

They skipped the usual Sunday morning breakfast at the New Burrow and stayed at the hotel until late Sunday evening. It was the longest Ginny had ever been in a totally Muggle environment, which added to the excitement of the weekend, and Harry and Ginny went back to Hogwarts feeling very refreshed.


	22. Ch 22 Memory Training and Magic Spaces

Ch 22 Memory Training and Magic Spaces

_When Hermione said the magic words, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good" Al remarked while shaking his head "That is __so__ James Potter." _

Thanks to PokePotterfan93 who first edited this chapter and made spelling and grammar more British, and to Cognitur for further editing. And always to Rowling for creating this universe we are all playing in.

* * *

Harry had a more regular schedule for the next 2 weeks, and then spent 2 weeks in memory training from November 9 to November 20. Since this course was in Britain Harry was back to their room in Hogwarts every evening. The problem with memory training is that it caused Harry to look back to old memories. The 10 years Harry spent with the Dursleys were full of tension and sorrow, and although many of the Hogwarts memories were happy many others were traumatic. One night Harry came back shaking, with a couple of potions.

"What is the matter, Harry?" asked Ginny as Harry came into their room.

"Memory training can be hard," said Harry. "Especially when you have to relive traumatic memories. For a variety of reasons traumatic memories are often the ones you have to retrieve and remember. It's just that I have some pretty traumatic memories."

"You have potions for that?" asked Ginny.

"I've already had a couple today, and the healers were there," Harry replied. "I need to take another one right after dinner and still another one before going to bed. Ginny, this was a real bad session, maybe the worst."

"Oh Harry," Ginny said. "What memories were so bad?"

"The Battle of Hogwarts, loosing so many people, having to face Riddle thinking I was going to lose everything and everyone dear to me, and hoping my death would make things better for everybody else," Harry replied. "Ginny, I remember feeling that even if I did die we still could lose. Or win, but at a terrible price."

"Oh Harry, you had to have just the worst memories of anyone!" Ginny exclaimed.

Harry said, "I actually did better than many in my class; my memories had to be some of the worst, and a couple of the members of the class are spending the night at St. Mungo's. The healers told us it was stupid not to take potions to help calm us after reliving something so traumatic." Harry took his potions and was able to go to dinner with Ginny without shaking, and they had a pleasant evening. Harry did take another potion before bed, and went to bed early, way before Ginny. It did make Ginny feel better that she was not the only one taking a potion to make her feel better.

During the memory training Harry learned Legilimency, literally 'Mind Reading' although it was hardly that. It was a very difficult skill to learn, and everybody was told it would take years to get good at it. Harry could sort of do it, as well as anybody.

They also learned Occlumency, the ability to block your mind from being read. Harry was excellent at this, having blocked Riddle and having been taught by Snape.

It was common practice to Obliviate or erase the memory of any Muggle who had seen magic, and this was what was done to Vernon and to a lesser extent Petunia, as they were in contact with the magical world. Dudley seemed to have escaped having his memories modified, and because it was her sister and Petunia knew her sister was a witch they went a little easier on Petunia than on Vernon. Harry was still upset at how much of his aunt's memories of his mother were modified.

He and all the students had to become masters at Obliviating. Before you could become a fully certified Auror you had to be a master Obliviator.

They briefly went over how to restore memories, something that was not easy. Harry was impressed that Hermione had been able to restore her mother and father's memories. One of the duties of an Auror was to modify or delete the memories of magic that Muggles came across, although there were other departments that usually handled the easier or more innocent cases. Modifying a memory was very serious, and you had to fill in a form that became a permanent record every time you did it.

During Harry's second week of memory training Bill had Ginny come with him to one of the European vaults to undo the protective charms. Bill had to teach Ginny some of the curse breaking spells, but Ginny was a very confident and competent witch, and once she knew what spell to use she had no problem.

After the vault was open Michael Appleleaf and Kreacher and the Goblins did an inventory, and Bill and Ginny had a chance to talk.

"How is Harry treating you?" asked Bill with a grin.

"Harry is doing his best," replied Ginny, "but he's so busy! I'm sort of busy too, but nowhere near as busy as Harry. Being married is really good, and I am really glad we got married when we did, but it's a lot more complicated that I thought."

"And how are you doing, Ginny?" asked Bill. "I know it is hard on you when Harry is gone."

"Being married is harder work than I thought it would be," Ginny mused, obviously in a thoughtful mood. "All those Muggle fairy tales. You read them to me. I used to feel so good that my big brother would take the time to sit down and read all my books to me. You were my hero. None of the rest of the boys would be patient with me, but you were my hero! 'And they lived happily ever after.' Not so simple, is it?"

"I think some people think of marriage as the end or goal, something that will solve all your problems," Bill said. "Really marriage is just the beginning, and life goes on. It's just that instead of you with your family now it is the two of you together, even if you are working different jobs or doing very different things. Harry doesn't have much of any family other than the Aunt and Uncle that hate him, at least Uncle Vernon really does hate him. I've met Petunia and Dudley and their relationship and feelings for him are a lot more complicated. I've got a Mother and Father-in-law and a sister-in-law, a second family that I am as much a part of as Fleur is part of our family. Gets complicated some times."

"I hate his whole family, for how they treated him," Ginny fiercely responded.

"I'd be a little careful about that," Bill replied. "They are Harry's family, and from what I understand Dudley has changed, and even Petunia isn't so bad."

"Have you ever heart anything good about Uncle Vernon?" asked a still fierce Ginny.

"No," said Bill, "But he didn't come to your wedding. I expect you will probably stay as far away from him as possible."

Ginny gave a grimace to indicate how she felt about Uncle Vernon.

"Has talking with the healers helped?" asked Bill.

"Some," Ginny said. "I don't really feel like a typical Hogwarts student any more, and the healers have explained that I'm not, but I don't feel like a grown up either, and the healers have explained that it's natural to feel confused because I'm not … I'm not … there really isn't anybody that I can say I'm like that person. Hermione, she is comfortable being a student although she and Ron are still a little awkward around each other sometimes. Hanna is pregnant and knows that she is going to be taking over the Leaky Cauldron and just seems to know who she is." Ginny looked at Bill. "Getting married sure doesn't solve all your problems, does it?"

"No," said Bill. "I wouldn't trade it for anything, but being married doesn't solve all your problems."

After a pause Bill said, "I think Tom Riddle did a good job of managing his estates, his money and property, when he first started killing and inheriting them. Riddle seemed to have lost not only his soul but also some of his mind the more he split his soul."

Friday of the last week of Harry's memory training Ginny was talking to the healer in the infirmary, and she mentioned that Harry had taken some potions after a particularly difficult session. "These sessions have been the hardest on Harry yet, remembering all the bad things. And you know he keeps blaming himself for everything, and I have to hold him at night. At least with the spells and sex I get him to go to sleep, and not have bad dreams, but I worry about him."

"Maybe you ought to tell Harry about these sessions," healer Swart said, "and by working together let you know how to better deal with both of your schedules, and both of your emotions."

"I don't want Harry to know I'm weak," said Ginny.

"You're not weak, Ginny," said the healer. "You're just dealing with something you have never had to even think about, a life with Harry that is very different than the one either of you could imagine. If Harry is still having a hard time getting to sleep, still brooding over all the deaths over the last few years, I think having you both at a couple of sessions Saturday morning should help both of you."

"Don't tell Harry how upset I was when he was in Romania," Ginny pleaded.

"I know you do not want to appear weak to Harry," said healer Swart. "As far as I am concerned our talks are making you stronger for Harry, and that's certainly how I'm going to portray it."

Friday afternoon Ginny received a message on her mobile saying "I'm tied up with Kingsley and the Wizengamot until 8:00 PM or 9:00 PM."

'Boggarts' thought Ginny. 'How am I going to ask Harry to go with me to talk to the healer? How am I going tell Harry that I've been seeing the healer?'

Harry came through the floo about 9:30. "Sorry I'm late," he said. "I'm not at all the Auror training sessions because of the Wizengamot and the other things I'm dealing with, and I don't feel I'm doing justice to anything."

"At least you don't have to go into work tomorrow morning," Ginny replied. "It usually takes you a while to calm down after one of these sessions. I don't have Quidditch practice either; the weather is supposed to be awful."

"Yes, it was hard. Every time I hear of the crimes, the damage, done when we were struggling to find the Horcrux, I feel guilty we did not find them and get everything done sooner. Your scars, everything, I just feel so guilty," Harry said. Harry sighed deeply and looked at Ginny with sorrow and exhaustion all over him. "Between the memory training and remembering, and the Wizengamot, and everything the last two weeks have been hard."

Ginny looked at Harry with both concern and sadness saying, "And then you have a hard time relaxing, and I have to hold you and try to get you to relax, and sometimes it's just real hard to get you to relax and let it go. You get uptight and I feel so helpless."

"I wish I could do something about it," Harry replied. "I don't want you to feel helpless."

"I have an appointment with a healer for us at 9:00 AM tomorrow," Ginny volunteered. "He has helped me with some problems I had when you were gone. What's happening is so different than what I had dreamed about." Harry looked at Ginny, who got up and came over to Harry and hugged him hard, kissed him, and kept holding on to him.

Harry did not know what to say. He was going to see a healer tomorrow with Ginny. Tonight he just wanted to hold her. Somehow he could forget all the guilt and frustration he felt if he was in her arms, even if he could only forget it until the next morning. Somehow after making love to Ginny he could go to sleep without nightmares.

Ginny thought 'that was easier than I thought it was going to be. I hope the healer helps Harry.'

Harry woke up first Saturday morning. Harry always woke up first, went to the loo, did a shaving spell. He looked at himself. Somehow after making love it didn't make a lot of sense to get up and get dressed to go back to bed, and they had just taken to sleeping with nothing on. Ginny had been given a sexy nightgown before the wedding, but Harry had seldom seen her in it. Even when Ginny was in it there was no problem getting it off.

"I need a shower, sexy husband," a very sleepy Ginny said as she slowly got up. "Someone could wash my back and even my front, and I'm sure I could return the favour."

"And who would that be?" a grinning Harry kidded.

"You wash anybody else like you wash me and a couple of people will have bat bogeys coming out of more than their noses," Ginny replied. Harry looked at the other orifices that might have bat bogeys coming out of them. It was a terrifying thought, and Harry was sure Ginny was not kidding about that. Harry thought that Ginny was more confident of their love since the wedding, a lot more, but she was still jealous and not one to trifle with.

Somehow they almost never washed each other without ending back in bed to finish up; joint washing did get you clean but it was also delightful foreplay.

A little after 8:00 AM Harry and Ginny walked hand in hand down to breakfast. There were a number of students going down at the same time. Most of them said hello to Ginny and about half of them, mostly the younger ones, said hello to 'Mr. Potter.' A small number of the first and second years said hello to 'Mr. & Mrs. Potter.'

"Makes me feel old," said Harry after a couple of young ones greeted 'Mr. & Mrs. Potter.'

"I'm not sure I feel at all grown up, still being in school," Ginny replied, "but being called Mrs. Potter sort of makes me feel grown up."

"Is this Happily Ever After?" Harry asked.

"Sort of," Ginny replied. "It would be better if you didn't have such a hard time getting to sleep after some of those sessions, if you didn't feel so guilty."

"So now you're making me feel guilty about feeling guilty," Harry said, grinning and giving Ginny a little tap to let her know he was kidding."

Ginny sombrely replied, "It's more than just that. I sort of thought we'd have the summer off, or at least a little time off. I know my dad doesn't have the summer off, but it feels like you've been running ever since the Battle of Hogwarts. I had a little time off, but you've been so busy all the time and I worry about you."

"Is that why we're seeing the healer together?" asked Harry.

"Partly," said Ginny. "I'm not sure I even remember all the reasons. Life is really good in some ways, Harry. It's so much better than when Voldemort, Tom Riddle, was alive and everybody was terrified and people were getting killed. It's better but it's different, and Happily Ever After and Don't Leave Me are not turning out quite like I expected them to. I don't even know what I expected."

David Jones appeared, as he usually did on Saturday mornings, and asked Harry, "Have you heard anything more about Nora?"

As usual Harry had to say, "No, David. I promised you I would ask every week. Your parents and sister get a letter every week, with real bad news, and we cannot figure out where Nora is. It's really terrible."

"I'm just so worried," David said. Harry gave David a little hug, but Ginny was the one to hug David hard and comfort him as best as she could.

At 9:00 AM, after breakfast and after talking to a number of the students, Harry and Ginny appeared at the infirmary and went to the room where healer Swart was. He got up and shook Harry's hand saying, "Good to meet you, Harry. I would like to examine you if you don't mind."

Harry gestured to indicate that it was all right, and the healer moved his wand around both Harry and Ginny for a minute or so. He then said, "Harry, how are you?"

"You tell me," Harry replied. "Isn't that why you examined us, to tell how we are?"

"Sort of," healer Swart replied. "I am examining you more for emotions than for specific thoughts or memories. I know you are both worried about each other, not about yourselves, which is good. I need to know how you think you are doing."

"How is Ginny?" asked Harry.

"Ginny is doing fine, Harry," healer Swart reassured Harry. "I'm not worried about her. But we're both worried about you?"

"I'm …," Harry paused, trying to think how he was. "I'm … mostly all right, I think," Harry finally replied. "I'll be all right."

"There is something bothering you, Harry," said healer Swart.

"Ginny," Harry repeated. "She has to be seeing you for a reason. I want to make sure she's all right."

Healer Swart chuckled, replying "You are both primarily concerned about each other, which is touching and a sign of a very good marriage. Ginny will be fine. Her main problems now concern you, and how you are dealing with life."

Ginny and healer Swart looked at Harry for what seemed to Harry to be a very long time. Harry finally said, "I'm a little tired, I'm a little overwhelmed by how much is expected of me, but I'll deal with it. I always have just done my best to deal with it, whatever it is. I just don't know why everybody treats me as if I was somebody special, like Dumbledore or Kingsley. I just survived, that's all."

"You just defeated one of the most powerful wizards in the world, one who had caused death and destruction to most of the magical families in Britain and plenty of chaos around the world, and you don't know why people treat you as a hero?" Swart asked.

"I didn't do it by myself!" Harry exclaimed.

"No, Harry," Swart followed up with, "But you were the main actor, and when Dumbledore was gone you were the leader." Ginny strongly nodded her head at this. "And in the end you defeated Riddle in the most dramatic possible way, in a one on one duel where you were supremely self-confident and from what has been described to me Riddle was full of fear and doubt. That duel is things legends are made of."

Ginny added, "When you caught Riddle's wand and stood there victorious it was like all the childhood fairy tales had come true! Not just for ME, Harry. I think everybody there thought we were seeing the birth of a legend."

"Then how come I don't feel better about it?" asked Harry.

"Because the job's not done," Healer Swart replied. "Because victory came at a terrible price. And because you really are a good person who is worried about everybody else, and although you did far more good than you can even imagine you could not save everybody."

"So what am I supposed to do about it?" asked Harry.

"Accept a little help," said healer Swart. "Acknowledge that you have been through a lot. Muggles have a term for what you and Ginny and most the people who have been through all the battles of the last years have, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. You have an amazing resilience, Harry, but you're not immune. That's why you have trouble getting to sleep some nights."

"Ginny helps me sleep," Harry said. "She seems to have some sort of spells she uses on me to get me to relax."

"There actually is a special spell I use before we make love, Harry," Ginny grinned. "Healer Swart and I've talked about how I should be confident in your love, and in my mind I am, but I'm just a real physical person, Harry, and when we touch, when we make love, that's just better for me than just talking."

Harry got a sort of silly grin, something close to the Ginny Weasley smirk, and said, "I don't have any problem with you being physical."

Healer Swart broke in with, "What do you want to do with your life, Harry?"

"Like what do I want to do when I grow up?" asked Harry.

"Do you feel like a grown up, Harry?" asked healer Swart.

"Yes, I guess I do," Harry replied. "My childhood was over before we went off hunting stuff to kill Riddle. I don't feel old enough to do everything I'm being asked to do, but I don't think it makes any difference. I think my life is kind of, not planned out, but kind of like if I want to do good I just have to respond to what is going on. I'm all right with that. As long as I have Ginny I think I can be happy. A family some time."

"It doesn't bother you that you're small?" asked healer Swart. "You're a very small short person."

"It kind of bothered me when I was younger, when I was bullied by my cousin," Harry replied, "but I haven't worried about being short for a long time. Sometime it's kind of nice being able to be unnoticed."

"So you're pretty content to be Harry Potter?" asked healer Swart.

"Who else would I be?" asked Harry.

"Would it help if you had someone to talk to about stress, about feeling guilty?" asked Healer Swart.

Harry sighed again. "Usually Ginny calms me down, and I really am holding up pretty well, but it would be nice to be able to get a little help if things got real bad."

"Who are you, Ginny?" asked healer Swart.

Ginny looked at healer Swart and Harry. "Do you know what it's like being called Mrs. Harry James Potter?" she said. "I was already having a little problem with changing my name, not that I wanted to stay Ginny Weasley, I mean, with all those other witches wanting Harry I wanted to be Mrs. Potter, but when that little girl called me Mrs. Harry James Potter I thought I'm still ume/u, I'm still uGinny/u, it's not like all of me is gone and I'm just … I'm just … I'm just part of Harry and not me at all anymore."

Ginny gave a big sigh. "I love being married, and I'm sorry if I'm confused, but I've always been little, always been small and also the youngest and overprotected by my brothers and, I know I was underage at the Battle of Hogwarts but I was almost 17 and I was with you at the Battle of the Ministry and a leader of the DA at Hogwarts and it really hurt being told I was too young, I mean I was always too young to play Quidditch with the boys even though Ron started at 5 or 7 but at 9 or 10 I was told I was still too small and a girl and I had to sneak a broom to practice. I've always had to fight for everything, at least that what it feels like."

"Some of the girls, they ask, 'what was it like when Harry asked you to marry him, wasn't it the most romantic thing, did he take you out to a romantic dinner, did you expect it, did it come as a total surprise,' and I think back and Harry I didn't want to steal away your chance to be romantic but I was a little … a little … a lot maybe terrified that one of those other witches would steal you away and I kind of pushed getting married … I mean …"

"You're the fiercely determined fiery redhead I married, Ginny," Harry said. "I've had some giggly girls approach me. It's kind of tiring and pretty stupid. I sure am glad I was not tempted to marry them. I love you!"

"But I," Ginny said winding up again "I … I really when I saw those rings I just … Harry I was so worried about all those other witches and so I didn't exactly ask you but I'm not exactly … what I am … I'm pretty determined." Harry and the healer both shook their heads in acknowledgement of this statement, smiling. Determined Ginny is. She continued, "and I want you, so I want, maybe that's why, we've talked about it, healer Swart and I, and maybe that's why I want sex as often because I'm still a little insecure plus I always liked doing it, always liked physical things and the pure physical part of it makes me feel good and makes me feel like I don't need to be insecure anymore and in my mind I really don't feel insecure about you at all anymore but in my stomach, in everything else maybe I still do."

"What do you want to be when you grow up, Ginny?" asked healer Swart. "We've talked about this, about you and Harry and how Harry seems content with life and how you have more problem with being content, more need to control."

"Harry has all the money we could ever need," said Ginny, "but I don't just want to, that's another problem. I was so upset when I was little and couldn't play Quidditch and when I found out about the Harpies, how there was an all-girl team and how they were a winning team, how they beat the boys, and I thought if I became a Harpy I'd show my brothers and it's still a little juvenile I guess but I still want to become a Harpy and part of it is just wanting to win and wanting to show everybody that I can do it and I like the pure physical part of it too and I hope you don't mind." When Ginny said 'I hope you don't mind' she was looking right at Harry.

"That's why we got you the Firebolt broom, Ginny," Harry emphasized. "I want you to be successful, to make your dreams come true."

"I hate it that I can't be a full time mother to Teddy," said Ginny "and I want to be a mother, well I sort of want to help you Harry like Fleur is helping Bill and working with him but I really don't want to become an Auror so I'm going to be doing something different plus I really want to become a mother not right now but I don't want to wait as long as some of the Harpies, most of them and I thought that maybe I could become a mother and a Harpy but when you get pregnant you have to quit playing and over the last lots of years there have only been two women who went back to the Harpies after having a child and one played two seasons and then had more children and the other played one season and become a coach and I want more than one child like at least two or maybe three or, three would be good. At least three, I think. But I can't do it all at once. So I always have to choose."

Harry gave Ginny a kiss, saying, "I'll support you in whatever you choose. Just support me in what I have to do, what I feel I need to do."

"It's not a problem I've been seeing a healer? I just wanted to be strong for you," said Ginny.

"Anytime you want to see a healer its fine with me," said Harry, "and if I have too many nightmares and you think I need to see a healer let me know."

The end of November the ministry received a letter about Harry's class in Romania, and Al gave Harry a copy of the letter.

"As you know we have had the honour of teaching some very powerful witches and wizards over the years. Our records go back over 1,500 years. And at least in our experience we have come to expect certain things from powerful wizards. There is almost always flamboyance and a presence, and you can feel the magic power. So we were delighted when Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, The Hero of Hogwarts, was scheduled to attend our classes.

To our astonishment Harry turned out to be a slight, somewhat shy person easily noticeable because of his scar and his pathologically messy hair (when Harry read this he ran his fingers through his hair, which did nothing to make it any neater) but otherwise noticeable by how little magic power seemed to emanate from him. He was dressed in neat undistinguished Muggle clothes, was very polite, and the more we met with him the more we liked him, a reaction shared by almost everyone here.

Our next surprise was how little anger and hate he has in him, despite all the terrible things that have happened to him and his friends. He hates evil and dark magic with a deep passion, but he does not have any great need for revenge, and he would rather have evil doers reform or be in prison than be killed. This lack of malice is one of his great strengths.

Harry also does not have any need to display how great his magic skills are, something else that gives him a great strength. Harry's modesty was taken as weakness by many of the students until he easily disarmed them all. He was easily the best student in the class.

Having worked with Albus Dumbledore, we feel that Harry has the potential to reach Albus's level or more, with the added ability of working well with Muggle technology."

Following this part of the letter there was an analysis on how well Harry had done on various areas of the class. To summarize, Harry had done very well, getting top grades for almost everything.

Saturday Nov 21 was the Quidditch game between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw had an excellent seeker, so there was no guarantee that Gryffindor could win. The game was 220 to 100 in Gryffindor's favour when the Ravenclaw seeker caught the snitch, giving Ravenclaw the victory but leaving Gryffindor well in the lead for the series. Ginny had again scored or assisted in making most of the points, and every time the Firebolt representative adjusted Ginny's broom the better she was flying.

The last week in November through December 18 were some of the more interesting classes in the Auror training. They were finally getting into what you did as an Auror, running through various scenarios of finding dark wizards and apprehending them. Al gave one talk that Harry would remember for the rest of his life.

Al started, "We are going to be learning how to be a good Auror. A large part of your job is going to be finding and catching dark wizards. And I want to stress one thing above all others. I do not want any g…damn heroes."

"In my career I have on a few occasions been in a situation where I had to fight one on one, or even was outnumbered. You know what I call all of these incidents. Failures. F… Failures. Successful failures since I escaped with my life, but f… failures none the less. I do not like failures."

"Do you know how many Aurors your ministry is supposed to have? 40. Do you know how many Aurors this department has lost the last 20 years? 50. And many of those 50 died as heroes, but they died!"

"In North America we have over 1,000 Aurors, covering the Unites States, Canada, part of the Caribbean and into Mexico. Do you know how many Aurors have died on the job in our home territory over the last 10 years? Not a g… damn one! A few serious injuries, but the last death 10 years ago. We have not been as good when it comes to some of the very difficult foreign assignments. I have had, from various countries, 100 to 200 Aurors on assignment, and we lose an average of one or two a year. The hardest job I have is telling some young witch that her husband is not coming home, that she is going to have to raise their children alone. Telling some parents that their son or daughter lost their life in some dangerous assignment."

"Harry, you had to meet people who had lost a loved one at the Battle of Hogwarts. Tell the rest of the class how that was."

Harry said "It was one of the hardest jobs I ever had to do. I still feel terrible that all those people lost their lives at the battle. I keep thinking what I could have done better."

Al asked, "So are you going to be a hero, and let me or someone else tell that pretty young wife of yours how you died as a hero."

Harry answered, "No sir."

Al then turned to Neville and said, "Neville, are you going to be a hero next year and leave Hanna to raise your child alone?"

Neville promptly answered, "I hope not!"

Then Al said, "And do you know how we keep from being dead heroes? We always try to have plenty of backup. If we are going to try and arrest most normal dark wizards I like to have at least 4 or 5 to 1 advantage. If I was going to try and arrest a larger cell of particularly competent and violent dark wizards I would not hesitate to try and have a 10 to 1 advantage.

"Do not be a hero! Do not do anything alone. Think before you act! Get help!"

Al nodded at Harry, who, after talking to Al and to Arthur Weasley, knew to ask, "Is that why we have been practicing with Hit Wizards and others from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?"

Arthur Weasley, who had been sitting in the back of the room, came to the front. "Good morning. As Harry has indicated, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement has been trying to break down the barriers that have kept different divisions from working together."

"Like keeping Hit Wizards from going out alone to capture wanted individuals?" Harry asked.

Arthur responded, "We haven't had a Hit Wizard hurt trying to capture someone in the last two months. I think most of them are grateful for the extra support, but some complain that we've taken all the heroics out of the job. I have to say I agree with Al. Having lost a son to the Heroic Battle of Hogwarts, the fewer dead and injured heroes the better."

Arthur then looked at his son-in-law and said, "Harry, this applies to you too. Don't you go running off on some heroic mission on your own."

Harry looked around the room, realizing that this admonition was given in public so everyone else in the department would realize that Harry was not to try any heroics on his own.

Arthur then went into some detail about how they were reorganizing the Department of Law Enforcement.

The classes were about how they were going about finding dark wizards, how to call for help, how to set up shields to keep dark wizards confined. Some of the tactics were like chess, and Ron really got it. They put the students through one scenario after another, some just on paper but others with role playing, some of it quite realistic.

They learned that the death eaters that escaped included Antonin Dulohov, Goyle, Fenrir Greyback, Jugson, Rabastan Lestrange, Rudolphus Lestrange with his wife's body, Mulciber, Nott, Augustus Rookwood, plus maybe 50 other more minor figures. Delores Umbridge, although not officially a Death Eater, was also missing. Delores was almost the most hated person not dead or in captivity.

They were going to all the places where the death eaters and other people on the run had a connection, including houses that they still owned or that relatives owned and any other place they might logically be or places where they had been spotted. They also were leaving ways of spotting if dark wizards had been there. One of the most ingenious ways was leaving a specially modified mobile hidden in the location. If someone with magical powers moved in they would put up wards, and the wards would usually prevent the mobile signal from getting out. So as long as the mobile signals were coming into the ministry there was a high probability that no one was in the location. "Keeps us from having to station Aurors everywhere, and since it is Muggle technology the people on the run have no clue as to what we are doing," said Dan VanLente, Al's son, as he was describing how they were watching these locations. They had already captured 6 or 7 minor figures who supported Voldemort and were on the run, and figured it was just a matter of time before they caught most of them.

Minor attacks were continuing on Muggle born or partly Muggle Witches and Wizards, more property damage than attacks on people but a few on people, and the Daily Prophet was warning Muggle born and non-pure blood to be careful.

During all these weeks Hermione was continuing to try and see who was stealing and destroying property of Muggle born. It was petty, but frustrating. When it got into taking homework it could interfere with learning and grades. The staff was concerned that the attacks could escalate into someone or some group harming someone. Short of watching the Marauders map all the time she could not figure out how to catch someone, and several times she asked Harry if the Americans knew how to record what the map was showing. For their part Al and his family were very interested in the Marauders Map so early in December Al VanLente and his son Dan showed up in Hermione's room, along with Harry and Ginny and Ron, to talk about the map.

When Hermione said the magic words, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," Al remarked while shaking his head "that is so James Potter." Al and Dan examined the map, and all they could say was that the map was very advanced magic, and if there were any notes or any information in the Potter family records to tell how they made it they would really like to see it.

Then Hermione asked if they could just put a Video camera on the map. Daniel said that the Video camera, in fact any Muggle technology, would not work. Of course Hermione had to ask why. So Dan said, "Hermione, what are you seeing right now."

Hermione answered, "A few people roaming the halls or in other rooms. Most of the students are in the dormitories."

Dan said, "Did you see any house elves?"

Hermione said, "No, I wasn't looking for house elves. Oh, now I see them. The kitchen area seems to be larger and I can see a fair amount of detail."

Dan explained, "When you looked for house elves the map changed and areas on the map hidden before became visible, and to compensate other areas were hidden. You are used to it because the map always shows what you are looking for."

Harry asked, "If two of us were looking for different things would the map be different for each of us?"

Dan suggested that they try, and indeed after several experiments it appeared that the map showed each person what they were looking for.

Dan then said, "That is the reason no Muggle technology can help with this map. As far as Muggle technology and science is concerned there is nothing on this parchment. What is on it is a charm that allows magical people to see souls in this castle that they are looking for."

Harry asked, "How do you know it is looking at souls?"

Hermione immediately answered, "Because it can see ghosts." Dan nodded yes.

Hermione then asked, "How can we identify all the rooms, and even see several stories at once? It is Hogwarts castle, but it sure is different than a print or a Muggle representation of rooms."

Dan looked at Hermione and asked, "Has anyone ever explained the difference between Muggle space and Magic space?"

"No," said Hermione, "although magic rooms seem to be different than Muggle rooms."

Dan then asked, "How big is your bedroom at your parents' house."

Hermione thought a little and said, "About eight feet tall, ten by twelve feet." "

Dan asked "Is it always the same size?"

Hermione looked perplexed and said, "Of course it is always the same size."

"If you tried to cram more people in the room it would not expand?" Dan asked.

An indignant Hermione said, "Of course not!"

Dan then asked first Ron and then Ginny how big their rooms were at the old Burrow. Neither of them had any idea. The best they could say was big enough. What about the New Burrow? Both said that the rooms seemed a little more Muggle like, the kitchen was bigger when almost empty, but it did not matter how many people were in it the kitchen never seemed too crowded. The bedrooms were the same, a little Muggle like and big when you were in them alone but never too small.

Dan pointed out that the classrooms in Hogwarts castle were the same variable size, and then asked "What size are the classrooms really? Ron?"

Ron looked puzzled and said "The classrooms are the right size for the class. What other size should they be?"

Dan turned to Ginny and said "Can you tell me how big, to the foot, any room in this castle is?" Ginny looked puzzled. Dan asked "Ginny, do you know what a foot is, what an inch is?"

"Sort of," Ginny answered. "Sometimes in potions you have to measure how much to put in something by length. Magic wands are a certain number of inches. Why would you ever measure a room? What is the purpose of measuring it? Rooms are as big as they need to be."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other. "That really is magic," said Harry.

Hermione looked really puzzled. "No, it's impossible. There are three fixed dimensions in space, and you cannot just get more space from nowhere." Hermione picked up her beaded bag and poked her arm way into it. "I guess we do get more space from nowhere. Where does the extra space come from?"

Dan asked, "Have you ever charted anything in Muggle school? Do you know what the 3 Muggle dimensions are?"

Hermione said "Yes, x, y and z axis, nice clear numbers telling you where any point in a formula is."

Harry said, "I sort of remember something like that."

"Yes,"" Dan said. "We can all see 3 fixed dimensions in space. When you apparate which dimension do you twist into?"

Harry's eyes opened wide, he got a big smile on his face, and said, "That is what is so hard to learn about apparating. You have to turn in a way beyond or different than the three dimensions you normally turn into. It is really a strange twisting. No one can exactly tell you how to do it. It really helps if you have side along apparated so you can feel the twisting."

Dan said, "That is why no Muggle machine can be made to apparate. Muggles do not have the ability to go into any dimensional direction but the 3 in the Muggle world. There is a branch of physics that is beginning to deal with many other dimensions, but so far it is just mathematics with little or no practical value. There is no way for a Muggle to get to the other dimensions. Meanwhile we have been dealing with other dimensions for centuries, but we do not have any good theory to tell us what we do and why.

"Ron, Ginny, did you understand any of what we were talking about?"

Ron said "Not much. I'm glad I'm not a Muggle." Ginny just looked puzzled.

Dan then said, "It is important to understand that magical space is intimately tied into the 3 dimensional world of this earth we are living on. No one knows if magic will work outside of earth, and we have never, as far as I know, been able to create any space that is not part of and intimately connected to the three dimensional space of Muggle science."

Harry got a big grin on his face, and said "It's just -magical- what magical spaces are like! I never realized how special they were. Wow."

"Yes, witches and wizards take too much for granted. Ron and Ginny are so used to magical spaces that they do not appreciate how special they are. Enough theory for one day," said Dan. "There is a lot more to talk about. Hogwarts has been one of the finest schools in the world when it comes to practical magic, but it has been weak when it comes to theory and modern science."

Harry and Hermione started to discuss the difference between magical space and Muggle space. They started looking at Hogwarts castle with eyes that were for the first time attuned to seeing the difference between Muggle space and magical space. Almost every Muggle knows some variation of "The shortest distance between two points is a straight line." When it came to Hogwarts shortcuts this was not true; some of the ones Harry used had you go into a passageway that was 90 degrees away from the direction you wanted to end up, and then come out at the same 90 degree angle, and in the twists and turns of the passageway the length was shorter than if you had gone directly to the room by the shortest Muggle way. It was real strange if you tried to draw it on Muggle paper, but by the strange logic of the castle it happened so naturally it did not seem strange at all.


	23. Ch 23 Coming home for Christmas

Ch 23 Coming home for Christmas.

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"_Well that was a real clear explanation" Ginny said, obviously exasperated. "Sort of but not exactly."_

Thanks again to my beta PokePotterfan93 for his work on this chapter. I could not ask for a more faithful helper.

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Friday December 18 Harry Potter was finished with Auror training. He was walking towards the Harry and Ginny Potter offices at about 5:05 PM for what he had been told was a very important financial meeting. He had told Ginny that he might be back late, and was going to have to work Saturday morning when Ginny was on the train, but should be free most of Christmas break. To Harry's surprise he heard Fleur shouting in his office.

"Arry and Ginny cannot work at hard! Look at iss schedule. Maybe Arry can work all ze time, but Ginny cannot and Ginny needs Arry. Ginny is already seeing a healer. What is Arry going to be like if you break Ginny?"

Harry stood outside the door listening. Bill said "Fleur, we are concerned about the schedule as well. That is why we are trying to make some management changes to keep Harry from having to work so hard. But you are really not supposed to be in this meeting."

Fleur shouted back "No I will not go! You saw Ginny Sunday when Arry was in Romania. I stay right ere."

Harry decided he had better come into the office. Everybody looked at him when Harry came into the room.

Bill stood up said "Glad you could come, Harry. You know Fleur, Michael (Appleleaf), Al (Van Lente), Kingsley. The more we get into the estate and management problems the more complex these problems look. We hired the best Muggle/Magic business consulting firm we could find. I want to introduce to Goblin Greenshade and John Braun from TTMB out of Germany. They have some overview of where we are and what we should do.

They had Harry sit down at one end of the table. At the other end of the room, sitting with her arms folded, was Fleur. John was on one side of Harry, with Greenshade at his side. Bill was on the other side of Harry, with Michael next to him and Kingsley next to him.

John started out "Harry, your estate is vastly more complex, and potentially more valuable, than we thought. Tom Riddle had been accumulating assets for a long time, and some of them include operating businesses that have gotten more valuable. We also know that you want to become an Auror, not a business executive. You need a business manager and a staff. The best news is that you have someone here, who can take charge of your investments, your brother-in-law Bill. We have looked over all the things he has done over the last few months, and he has your best interests at heart.

We have one problem that you need to solve. Bill and Michael need to be making as much money as some of the other executives they will be hiring, and they are not even close. With as many assets as you have under management Bill should be making at least 30,000 Galleons a year, with a bonus if the assets grow." He showed Harry some figures on what comparable people made, and Bill's compensation was still modest compared to some of the others, although with anticipated bonuses Bill was probably going to be making 50,000 to 100,000 Galleons a year. Fleur was going to be making 10,000, with back pay from when she first started.

Harry was aware that this was an enormous amount of money, but when the consultants showed him how the money compared with other people managing that amount of money Harry had to agree that the compensation was still modest in comparison.

"I don't have any problem with Bill making that kind of money" said Harry. "Look at how much money we are talking about!"

"Harry" Bill said. "I could be making ten times as much as my father!"

"The consultants say it is fair, and that you need to be making that much money to be able to work with some of the other executives" said Harry. "I never asked to be rich either."

John from TTMB said "Bill, the boss has spoken."

Bill got ready to protest, but then relented.

John then said "We need to set Michael's wages at 25,000 Galleons, and again Harry look at the bonus structure we have set up. Michael and your house elf Kreacher have been responsible for finding a lot of hidden value. I'm not saying everybody is trying to cheat, but there has been a lot of hidden value that they have found, and there are certainly less than honest people out there."

Harry said "Thank you for your help" looking at Michael Appleleaf.

Michael nodded, and said "Thank you for the huge raise! I have to agree with John that it is appropriate to the way Muggles are paid, but a lot of wizards are notoriously tight with money, frequently to their disadvantage."

"Shouldn't Kreacher be paid?" Harry asked.

"Let's not get into that subject right now" John said. "I've done just a little study on what you and Hermione Granger are trying to do, and it's a lot more complex than you think."

John then said "The other problem is your schedule. That is why Kingsley and Al are here. Harry Potter Estates is going to need you about one day a week for the next year, although that amount of time should go down the longer we do this, and we do not want you taking the normal Harry Potter way of handling extra work and be working 80 hours weeks. The Auror department is going to make adjustments for you to do the Estate work; after all you are helping pay for them."

Kingsley said "being on the Wizengamot is also going to take some time, and that will also be considered part of your duties. We are doing our best to give you a normal life. We are not going to be completely successful, of course, but we will try."

John then said, "Bill, is there anything that cannot be finished up tomorrow morning or wait until the first of the year?"

Bill said "there are some reports that Harry should read before the first of the year, and a couple of hours that he really needs to spend here, but we should be able to free up almost all of Christmas."

Goblin Greenshade asked Harry, "Do you have any idea how many Galleons we are talking about? It seems that when goblins really try to find assets instead of just doing the minimum required they can find all sorts of things. Not including portions of the Rothchild Estate, some of which are impossible to value, but including all the real estate and operating businesses we are looking at something a little under 500,000,000 Galleons. (Over 3 Billion Pounds, 3 ½ Billion dollars, a staggering sum of money) Almost half of that will probably end up being returned to various governments or individuals, and I know you intend to donate a significant portion of the rest trying to right the wrongs that Tom Riddle inflicted on the magical world. Still, you are never going to have to worry about money, especially with good people like Bill and Fleur looking after you."

Harry said "You're a Goblin. Is this just people being honest?"

Greenshade looked at John and Bill. Bill spoke up. "Harry, there are layers and layers of complexity in what is going on. I have travelled to the Wizard of Omaha in North America to see how he is handling all the money he manages, all the company his company owns. We, you, own all of a lot of the properties, but just parts of other companies or properties. I think the Goblins are trying to get any property with uncertain ownership in your hands if they can, because you are not only honest but generous with them.

In all honesty it just never occurs to most wizards to treat Goblins with anything but caution, respecting what they do but not liking them. Most wizards seem to feel that the Goblins must be cheating them. And most wizards treat house elves as abject slaves. The way you, and Hermione, have treated both Goblins and house elves makes the Goblins want the best for you, want you to have things instead of others.

In addition, a lot of wizards love magic but have a lot of contempt for anything that would smell of good Muggle business practices, and as a result many of them have been spectacularly bad business people. Look at the estates that we brought in Boris and Natasha to manage. Look at how much this group of companies was supposed to be worth." Bill showed Harry the initial estimate of the value of the three companies.

"Look at all the value in the lumber" Bill said. "Good Muggle accounting, harvesting at an average of one hundred years although some trees are harvested at thirty or fifty and some at well over three hundred years. The lumber alone is worth over ten times what the entire three companies were supposed to be worth.

Look at how much turnover the companies are doing, and how much profit they are showing" Bill pointed out. Harry was astounded. "We are investing so much in new equipment that they are taking cash instead of generating it, but in a couple of years this is going to be generating lots of income for the trust" Bill said.

"The whole culture of that area is of a bunch of crooks" Al VanLente said. John agreed, as did Kingsley.

Bill responded with "We just can't turn over any ownership to that bunch of crooks. So you are going to continue to own it all and just pay taxes, giving the local Ministry much more that they would have had if we had shared the ownership with the local Ministry."

"That's why Bill is worth what you are going to be paying him" John said. "He has found out ways to better manage much of what you have inherited."

Fleur piped up "They wanted you and Ginny to go to Switzerland for two or more days of work this next week! No!"

"Thank you Fleur" said Harry. "What is going on in Switzerland?"

Bill said "We've gone through Switzerland quite a few times, you and I, and even went into the valley and went to the Swiss headquarters of Gringotts. There are more magic people in that valley than in all of Great Britain. That valley, you sort of own it."

Kingsley said "Sort of, you are the Regent for the eventual owner and, who will be sort of like king or head of the entire magical world, if we can believe prophesies. Sort of, it's real complex and real touchy with the Swiss right now."

Fleur piped in with "No talk about Swiss. Ez too complicat, way too complicat. No need."

"Fleur is right" Kingsley said. "We've put off anything to do with the Swiss until spring at the earliest, I think."

A simple dinner was brought in and there was a lot more discussion on the details of the new management structure, especially as it related to the Ministry and the Auror department. When Harry asked how Gawain Robards was dealing with him and the flexibility he was going to need Al said "he does not like it or understand. Leave him to me."

At 9:30 the meeting broke up. Harry was going to come back to the office Saturday after putting Ginny on the train. Ginny wanted the experience of riding the train back, and after this trip there was only one more trip there and one more trip back, two if they took the train for the Easter break.

Harry got back to the room at Hogwarts about 9:45 PM. Ginny said "Finally! Where have you been?"

Harry said "It looks like we have had some people working very hard to give us a good Christmas break. I know I really could use some time off."

Ginny looked at Harry and said "Are you really going to be able to spend the Christmas break with me? I'm not sure I can believe you anymore. There is always something urgent that comes up."

Harry told Ginny "Fleur was real upset because they wanted us, you and me, to work two or three days in Switzerland next week. She was worried that they would, how did she put it, break me or you. They are working real hard on trying to give me, to give us, a real break."

"Why would they want us in Switzerland?" asked Ginny.

"There is a big valley that is all magical, no Muggles. More witches and wizards live there than in all of England" Harry explained. "I guess I sort of inherited it, or am Regent for the next king, or something like that but not exactly."

"Well that was a real clear explanation" Ginny said, obviously exasperated. "Sort of but not exactly."

Harry apologetically explained "Well, it is all put off until spring or later, I guess. Switzerland, that is. Fleur says they must not work us so hard, me anyway, and they really are trying! I have to go back tomorrow morning but then should be mostly free until the first of the year."

"Are you sure?" Ginny warily asked.

"I think so!" Harry exclaimed again. "They really are trying!"

From the look on Ginny's face you could tell she only partly believe Harry.

Harry spotted the book from Molly and said "I think we have a little homework we are going to have to work hard on" and showed Ginny the book. "Be sure to pack this book some place we can find it. Who is going back on the train?"

Ginny said "Hanna still has not had her baby, and unless she has started labour she is going to try and go back with us. Hermione is also going on the train. Tammy Lewis (she and her husband Kyle replaced David and Kim Williamson) is going to ride the train for the first time, along with Sue. Most of the students are going back on the train as usual."

Harry said "I do have to go to the office in the morning, but Bill has promised me a good Christmas vacation, and Fleur was there to make him keep his promise. Gin, I really am doing my best to free up the next couple of weeks. We'll have a few things we have to do, but I really am trying to get as much time for us as I can."

Ginny knew that Fleur was the one who had talked Harry into taking Ginny to the hotel after he came back from Romania. She was beginning to like her sister-in-law more all the time. Maybe she was a little hasty in calling her Phlegm when Fleur was first engaged to Bill. Although Ginny could never tell anyone else she also remembered that Fleur had her own tragedy in her background.

Ginny and Harry got up a little late, about 6:30 AM, and about 7:30 they were at breakfast. There was no sight of Ron or Hermione. Neville had brought a little food up to the room for Hanna, who had been up and down most of the night. Neville told them that at 5:00 PM they were told that real labour had not yet started, although the baby had dropped and was in position. They were supposed to stay at Hogwarts if her labour pains got regular or real close together, but as of the morning they were still rather irregular.

By 8:15 Harry, Ginny, Neville and a very big, very pregnant Hanna were walking down to the train. The normal 15 minute walk took 30 minutes because Hanna was moving very slowly; the baby had dropped enough that she was having trouble walking. There was still no sign of Hermione or Ron. 8:45 they got into a compartment that Sue had saved at the front of the train just behind the prefects compartment. Ginny, Neville and Hanna plus Sue were there. Tammy was going to be walking the train.

Just after 9:00, as the train was pulling out, Hermione walked into the compartment. She looked exhausted, sat down, and closed her eyes. "What happened to you, Hermione" said Ginny.

"Classes were over, and Ron and I had a very vigorous celebrated until 4:00 AM." Hermione said. Hermione got a big smile on her face and promptly fell asleep.

About 10:00 AM Neville asked Ginny to help him time Hanna's contractions. From 9 to 10 there were about 6 contractions. From 10 to 11 there were about 10 contractions 5 to 7 minutes apart. 11:00 to 12:00 the contractions had started to come about 4 minutes apart and Neville and Ginny were beginning to get worried. Hermione was still asleep, but when she woke up at noon and realized how regular Hanna's contractions she said "Ginny, can you get in touch with Harry? We need a midwife here now!" Ginny remembered her wizard mobile, took it out, and tried to send Harry a text message. She got the alphabetical order keyboard (she still could not understand why anybody would use that quirky keyboard) and typed ou .

About 20 minutes later a message came back in. **Midwife will meet the train about 1:00 PM.** Ginny was very grateful for the mobile. She realized that she could have sent a Patronus, but that was a little more dramatic than it needed to be.

Ginny looked at Hermione and said "What do you mean that you and Ron had a vigorous celebration?" Hermione got real red and said "Look on page 68 of the book your mother gave us."

"Six hours of" and the next word Ginny whispered "sex?"

Hermione did not say anything but got the biggest smile on her face. She made some kind of hugging herself motions that left little doubt that she was remembering couple time. She was only sort of awake, obviously still dreaming of the 6 hours of vigorous celebration.

Just a little before 1:00 the train came to a stop at a very small station and a midwife with a moderate size bag came on board. Ginny stood out in the hall and waived the midwife into the compartment. It was getting a little crowded, and Hermione said that she would go to the Prefects compartment and Sue said she could stand outside the compartment. The midwife put something down on the floor for Hanna to lie down on and had all the shades closed. She had Hanna take off what she had on and put on a gown that would allow the midwife access. Hanna lay down and when the midwife checked her she announced "We'll probably have a baby before we arrive." Hanna's contractions got harder and closer together, and about 2:00 PM her water broke. Neville sat with his back to the outside of the compartment with Hanna's head between his legs. Hanna was sort of half sitting half lying down, with her back against Neville, and was holding hands with him, squeezing Neville's hands as hard as she could. The midwife gave Hanna potions for pain and did a fair amount of wand work, announced that the baby was fine and everything was going well. "Having a baby is hard work, Hanna, but we should be able to keep the pain to a minimum. Just push when we tell you to push." For the next half hour there were several hard contractions and the midwife kept saying "we are making progress." Then she said "I can see the baby's head. A few more contractions and we should have this baby out." She showed Ginny what was going on, and told Ginny she was going to put the baby in her hands just after it was born so she could clean out it's airways and look it over.

The midwife said "Push again" and Hanna strained, sweat beading on her forehead. Neville wiped the sweat and kissed Hanna. He had been softly talking to Hanna all day, encouraging her.

"A couple more big pushes and we should have it" Hanna strained again and Ginny could see the baby coming "One more big push push" Hanna strained one more time and the midwife was taking hold of a baby boy, putting him in Ginny's hands, using her wand and suctioning out blood and stuff from his head. Then there was a "Waa Waa WAAA" and the baby opened his eyes, calmed down a little, and started making mouth movements like he was hungry. "Does he want to nurse?" asked Ginny. "Put him on Hanna's breast" said the midwife and Ginny carefully put the baby on Hanna's breast. Nursing will help the uterus shrink, and is really best for the baby and mother" said the midwife. Hanna said "Neville, I'm feeding our baby, I'm nursing our baby. I love you." Neville, with tears in his eyes, said "I love you, Hanna. You did a good job. That was very hard work and I am so proud of you." Hanna was exhausted, but said "It was hard work, but we have a baby, our baby. Still want to name him Frank after your father?" "Yes," said Neville, "welcome to the world Frank Longbottom."

Ginny had thought that if she could not play professional Quidditch she might train as a healer. She was sure that even if she just became a mother after Quidditch she was going to learn as much as possible about healing. Assisting at a birth was astounding. She was so happy for Hanna and Neville.

The midwife was saving the afterbirth and cleaning up. When little Frank was done nursing the midwife put nappies on and wrapped him in a blanket. Neville and Hanna had fallen asleep, so the midwife gave baby Frank to Ginny.

Tammy looked in the compartment and the midwife said "You can tell people that Frank Longbottom was born just before 3:00 PM, and that baby and mother and father are all doing fine." In no time the news had spread up and down the train.

* * *

Harry left the train and walked back to the room, checked to make sure there was nothing left that they were going to need, and took the floo to Grimmauld Place, and from there to the Potter Estate offices. It was 9:30, and Bill, Fleur, Goblin Greenshade and John Braun were in Harry's office. Most of the business was routine, but towards noon John brought up house elves. "Harry, in addition to Kreacher you own about 40 house elves. 30 of them are attached to houses or properties that are going to be sold, and sold to wizards, and in cases like this the house elves usually go with the property. But 10 are "orphan" elves. The houses are either going to be sold to Muggles, or have been torn down, or for some other reason the elves are not attached to anyone or anything.

Harry asked "are any of them single, or are some of them families?"

John said "8 of them are 4 couples, 2 with a child that we did not count, and the last 2 are single. They really are unhappy, and need to be in some place that provides shelter for them and allows them to help."

Harry said "Well we can place one pair with Arthur and Molly if they agree, another with you two (pointing to Bill and Fleur), another pair with Michael and Rosemary, and I guess we can see if George and Angelina could use a pair. Maybe George and WWW could use a couple to help with the stores. Would that work?"

"Better for them than to be idle. Over the weekend we will ask everybody" said Bill. "Fleur, could we take in a pair and let them help us?" Fleur nodded yes.

Goblin Greenshade said "Kreacher wants the Harry Potter Estate to retain ownership of all the house elves. Is that a problem?"

"Why?" asked Harry.

""Not slaves, part of group' he told me" Greenshade said. "I think he is taking your wished to do the best for house elves seriously."

"More of his 'subversives?'" Harry asked.

"Goblins are not supposed to be partners with Muggles in a consulting firm either" Greenshade said. "You've thoroughly corrupted that house elf of yours over the months you and he have talked. I have to say I approve."

Harry laughed. "Am I really being that subversive?" he asked no one in particular.

Everybody nodded in agreement, and Bill said "More than you can possibly know, Harry."

Harry said "we are having a hard time getting the house finished. Does anybody have any ideas?" John said "many clients in your position hire an interior designer to help with the interiors. We probably have a couple of people you could interview." Harry agreed to that.

Noon Harry got the text message from Ginny. Fleur took the floo over to St. Mungo's and in a few minutes had arranged for a midwife to meet the train.

Early afternoon Harry went over to the New Burrow for a late lunch, taking John along with him, and he had a chance to talk to Arthur and Molly about house elves.

"Mum, Dad, I have a problem you could help me with. I own ten house elves that are not assigned to anyone. They are either with property that is going to be sold to Muggles or torn down. They need a home. I have a male and female pair that I would like to give to you, to help with the house."

"House elves are expensive!" Molly replied. "We can't afford to buy and maintain house elves. And after all you have done for us how can we ask for house elves too!"

"It's not like I am buying house elves for you. I own them and they need a place to stay. I understand that it is a male and female house elf plus a child, and I would like to see if they could stay in one of the bedrooms at the house. We are working on getting clothes, uniforms, for the house elves, and you could help me there as well. I understand that house elves are so helpful in the garden that they help grow as much or more food than they eat."

Molly turned to Arthur and said "the new house really is too big to take care of, even with magic. Andromeda is really no help; some days she has a hard time taking care of herself although some days she really does spend quite a bit of time with Teddy. I hate to put Fiona to work. Yes, I would like to take in a family of house elves."

John Braun, who was with Harry, said "I'll have the family of elves over late in the afternoon."

Harry and John then walked over the Appleleaf family and placed another pair of the house elves with them. John said "Legally they are on loan, still owned by the Potter Estate. Because you are on leased Potter Estate property we can do it this way. For all practical purposes they are your house elves."

The Appleleaf family had no problem with having house elves owned by the Potter Estate.

As they were walking back to the New Burrow Harry asked "How important is this ownership stuff? Kreacher wants all the house elves owned by the Potter estates. Is this normal?"

"It's highly irregular, at least" John responded. "Kreacher will occasionally say 'is subversive.' Kreacher is taking your instructions to make things better for all house elves very seriously. He's an interesting character. In his own way I think he is being very subversive to the established way house elves have been treated, because you ordered him to be that way."

Harry told John "When he and I were together and free over the last months Kreacher and I had quite a few discussions about what kind of things house elves could or should want to make their lives better, and about the good and bad parts of being bound to other people. House elves are very social beings, and a lone house elf is not a happy one. House elves, even if mostly self-directed like the Hogwarts house elves, need to belong to someone or something."

"It's the same in other parts of the world" John said. "In North America there are groups of supposedly free house elves, but they are almost always groups, not single elves, and they are almost always tied in with either an institution or a family."

John looked at Harry. "Really most humans are not all that different. Happy ones have ties to family and some institution or institutions, work, clubs, church, something. Really alone people are usually really unhappy people."

At 4:30 Harry went over to the ministry to get a car that would take Ginny and him over to the New Burrow. Ron and Hermione were going to apparate to Diagon Alley and from there would probably end up back at the apartment over the Hogsmeade Store. Neville and Hanna and baby Frank were going to take the same car and they were going to be dropped off at the Longbottom Mansion first, although when Harry got the car he had no idea that the baby had been born.

Harry and his Auror escorts were waiting at the station, along with Ron, when the train pulled in. Students piled out of the cars and ran to meet their parents. There was no sign of Ginny or Hermione for about 15 minutes, and the area was beginning to clear, when Hermione came out of the first car, charmed a wheelchair and turned to the train. A tired Neville came out with an extremely tired Hanna, and led her over to the wheel chair. After Hanna was in the wheelchair Ginny came out of the train and put baby Frank in Hanna's arms, then ran over to Harry, gave him a big hug and kiss, and said "Hanna had her baby on the train, and I watched, and held the baby after it was born! It was wonderful!"

Everybody congratulated Hanna and Neville, and then everyone went over to the car and the driver went first to the Longbottom home and then to the New Burrow. Harry and Ginny got to the New Burrow about 6:30 PM. Molly was trying to fix dinner and talk to a female house elf at the same time. Both of them seemed a little frustrated, with Molly trying to figure out what to do with a house elf and the poor house elf trying to help but at the same time let Molly do what she wanted to do. John Braun was there, and he pulled Harry and Ginny aside and said "Give your mother and Berry time to figure out how they are going to work together. This kind of awkwardness is normal for someone who had never had a house elf."

Ginny ran up to her mother said "Hanna had her baby, a boy they named Frank after Neville's father. I was there when she delivered the baby! The midwife gave me the baby just after he was born, and after she cleaned up the baby and he cried I put him on Hanna's breast and he nursed, then Hanna and Neville fell asleep and I held the baby for the rest of the ride in the train. It was such a great experience. Hanna and Neville are home; we brought them home before we came here."

Molly said "That's wonderful! I love babies. I hope they can come over here the next couple of weeks, or if they want we could visit them. Dinner is a little late in getting started because, Oh, I forgot to introduce to the house elves Harry got us. Ginny, Harry, meet Berry. Branch, come here and bring Leaf please." A male house elf holding a very tiny baby appeared, not with a crack as was usual with house elves but after a minute or so, walking into the kitchen. "Berry, Branch, this is my daughter Ginny and her husband Harry Potter."

Berry and Branch both bowed to Harry and Ginny, and Branch said "Every house elf knows Harry Potter, friend of house elves and Goblins. We are honoured to serve in the house of the family of Harry Potter." John whispered to Harry "You don't have any idea how much your burying Dobby has done. Your tears for him have unleashed a flood and we have no idea what it is going to wash away."

Branch and Leaf left, quietly walking upstairs because Molly did not like all the cracks of the house elves appearing and disappearing.

"I insisted they take a bedroom with a bath that was not shared" said Molly. "They are a family and they deserve some nice space for themselves. You have no idea how hard it was to have them accept a whole room for themselves. They came from a farm, and they are going to help me increase the size and variety of the garden next spring!

After a typically delicious Molly Weasley meal Harry and Ginny excused themselves and went up to what had become their room. "The only thing new this morning was the house elves" Harry said. "Otherwise it was just business, including a lot of things that I guess I need to know about and approve but nothing that I'm all that interested in. Ginny, do you want to work on the house this week?"

Ginny answered "Sort of. I'm not sure where to begin. I think I know what I want, but I don't want to spend most of the next couple of weeks working on the house either."

Harry said "John said that you can hire what they call an Interior Designer to help. Would that help?"

Ginny replied "Anything has got to be better than what I went through this summer with my mother."

Harry asked "Ginny, do you know why Ron and Hermione were so tired this morning? Ron was still sleeping when I left."

Ginny said "I think so. I need to get the book my mother gave us." Ginny found the book and looked at page 68 to see what it said. There was a spell that could allow a man to keep up intercourse for up to a couple of hours, and you could use it more than once a night. Ginny and Harry looked at each other. Ginny said "I think Ron and Hermione were going at it for 6 hours, between 10:00 PM and 4:00 AM. Hermione said they had a very vigorous night. I like sex but they're nuts! Hermione is not all that logical with it comes to my brother. He must really know how to please her!"

"Do you want is to try that spell sometime, Ginny?" asked Harry, with kind of a sly grin on his face, not at all sure if he was going to get a vigorous yes or an equally vigorous no.

Ginny smiled and said "Sure, sometime, but not tonight. I don't want to be up until 4:00 AM this morning!" Ginny looked at the book again. "I don't want six hours tonight, but it couldn't hurt to look at, I've got a few pages I've looked at Harry. Look here, if I say these spells" and Ginny pointed to a couple of spells "and you say these spells" turning to another section of the book "and we do this" pointing to a couple of very explicit drawings. Harry looked at the book and the drawings, and at Ginny, and back at the book, and back at Ginny, and got a big grin on his face. "Want to try?" asked Ginny.

Well of course Harry wanted to try! It was well past eleven before Ginny went to sleep. Harry thought about the book again. Apparently Ginny had looked at the book several times over the last months. Harry had been too busy, but he was very grateful that Ginny had not been too busy to look at the book.

Ginny woke up in the middle of the night to go to the loo. She was just about to go back to sleep when she thought 'We don't have to get going early tomorrow. If I just touch Harry here' and she tried to see if she could turn Harry on.

Harry woke up the next morning and looked at Ginny. After a fantastic evening she had awaked him in the middle of the night for more! This was turning into a most enjoyable, and certainly erotic, Christmas break. He put on his glasses and looked at the book. There was a spell that could make your wife wake up eager as possible. Harry thought Ginny was usually pretty eager anyway, but decided to give it a try. There were pretty specific instructions. You were supposed to use the loo and shave and get yourself ready, with a couple of the endurance and patience spells, before using the spell on your partner.

Ginny awoke in an attack mode, thoroughly pleasing herself and Harry. After she used the loo and brushed her teeth they went back for more. Ginny pointed out a position and spells to take it, something that involved levitation and that only a witch and wizard would be able to attempt. Harry and Ginny went at it! Harry and Gunny loved to fly, and the combination of levitation and, well and whatever, was certainly erotic. The only problem was that the positions were not only enjoyable but, for some reason, funny, at least to Harry and Ginny, and every time they got close to some sort of sexual encounter they broke up in laughter. It was fantastically enjoyable and a little frustrating all at the same time. It took them about forty five minutes to achieve some sort of sexual satisfaction, and when they were done they were still giggly.

It was almost nine o'clock. "I'm getting hungry" Ginny said.

"Eventually the Weasley stomach wins out" Harry teased.

"I'm not a Weasley anymore, I'm a Potter" Ginny teased back.

"You still have a Weasley stomach" Harry retorted. Ginny threw a pillow at Harry and started to get dressed, as Harry just caught the pillow and got dressed himself.

The entire Weasley clan showed up for breakfast, and Ginny decided it was time for a little payback for Ron's "how was the first time" question right after their marriage. She said "I understand you and Hermione had a very vigorous night Friday night. It might have been really something to keep you up until 4:00 AM."

Ron got real red and embarrassed and kind of stammered, giving Hermione a wary look. Hermione got a real big smile on her face and said "It's not enough to read how to make a potion. You need to actually cook up a potion. We were really cooking Friday night, and I'm thrilled that I'm going to be married to the sexiest man in the world. Ginny, tell the family about Hanna having her baby on the Hogwarts express yesterday."

Of course Ginny had to tell the whole family about Hanna giving birth on the Hogwarts Express. And Hermione had ended the conversation about Friday night with everybody knowing that there was a passionate side to her as well as the logical academic side. Hermione apparently approached her sex life with the same over the top attitude she took with everything.

Harry eventually announced to the family "I own a number of house elves, ten of them, that were attached to homes either being sold to Muggles or being torn down. Bill and Fleur are taking a pair, and the Appleleaf family is taking a pair. One pair is staying at the New Burrow. I still have four house elves, a couple and two singles, to place. George, Angelina, could you use a pair?"

Angelina said "We could use a pair for general housekeeping, both at the apartments and some general cleaning at the store. Two is all we can take."

"I don't need any house elves helping in the story, Harry" George said. "House elves don't buy anything, and too many witches and wizards would not want to buy anything from a house elf."

Sunday just before Ron and Hermione left for the Hogsmeade store Harry got Ron alone and asked "are you and Hermione always at it like you were the other night. Six hours?!"

"Between Hermione needing to get the best grades anyone has ever gotten, and me in Auror training and running the store, we hardly had time to do it at all" said Ron. "After getting formally engaged McGonagall relented and I was allowed to spend the night, but only if we did it quietly. Not like we could do it that often. So sex was infrequent and kind of rushed. But of course Hermione has to be the best in everything, so when we both had time she wanted to get the book out and go through everything, not just reading about it but doing it. I said the spell for endurance and we did more things the first two hours than I believed were possible. I was getting a little sore but Hermione, well, it was in the book and we needed to try it, and if it seemed we did not have it right do it again. Then she had me do the two hour endurance spell again, and finally at 2:00 AM she was like mostly through the book but there were a lot of things we had not tried, Harry, you wouldn't believe all the ways you can do it. So even though I was sore inside and out at 2:00 we did the spells again. I don't think I've ever been so tired. Harry, I was exhausted. Bloody fantastic, it was. Wonderful! We've got a lot more practice to get good at some of those positions. Bloody fantastic!"

After everybody had left Harry called "Kreacher."

Kreacher appeared with a crack.

"We've found homes for all the house elf couples, but not for the two single house elves" Harry said.

"They could stay at Grimmauld Place" Kreacher replied.

"That sounds like a good idea" Harry said. Harry thought there was more to the story, but Kreacher did not volunteer any more.

Sunday evening at about eight Harry and Ginny were sitting in the living room with Arthur and Molly, next to each other leaning against each other. Harry looked at Ginny and motioned with his eyes and face 'upstairs.'

Ginny whispered "And what would you have in mind, Mr. Potter."

"Oh, we're woefully short of practice in certain areas" Harry teased.

"Maybe if the youngsters would leave we could make out in the living room" Molly said loud enough for Harry and Ginny to hear. They were sitting next to each other on a large overstuffed piece of furniture, and Molly put her arm around Arthur and kissed him.

"Or we could retire to our bedroom" Arthur said, a lusty smirk on his face, before returning Molly's kiss with a lingering one of his own.

"I'm not sure we could stay at it for as long as Ronald and Hermione" Molly said with a twinkle in her eye, after she finally came up for air. "It would be fun to try, though."

Ginny was looking at her parents, somehow shocked.

"It's funny, Arthur" said Molly, looking at Arthur with a look that was half lust and half Ginny smirk. "Older children know they are not products of a virgin birth, but most children are a little shocked to find out that their parents still enjoy it too." Then looking at Ginny and Harry, "Enjoy the little book I gave you? I know you were not sleeping all the time you were in your room last night and this morning!"

Ginny blushed almost as red as her hair. Harry didn't know whether to laugh or be terribly embarrassed himself.

Molly got up and went over and gave Ginny a big Molly Weasley hug. "Enjoy yourselves, young lovers" she said, turning to Harry and hugging him too. "And never stop enjoying each other!"

Harry and Ginny went to their room, and did enjoy themselves, as did Molly and Arthur.

* * *

Harry and Ginny ended up getting going quite late Monday, having put Molly's book to good use. As they were leaving their room Ginny said "This would be a good day to go Christmas shopping. I suppose we have to make sure the Aurors are with us."

"Yes, it's getting kind of old" Harry replied. "Al wants to make sure we are shadowed all the time, but it's a real pain. No one has tried to attack us since the Battle of Hogwarts." Harry conveniently forgot the attack in Romania, never having really told Ginny how serious it was.

"Better humour Mr. VanLente" Ginny acknowledge. "He's sort of your boss, isn't he?"

"Sort of" Harry replied. "I'd better humour him."

Well after eight o'clock they finally walked into the kitchen.

"Enjoy yourselves?" Molly asked with a gleam in her eye.

"There were a lot of things about being married I didn't know when I was a little girl" Ginny enthusiastically responded. "Really fun things!"

"I'm glad you are enjoying yourself" Molly replied. "What are you planning on doing today?"

"We're going to go shopping at Diagon Alley" Ginny replied.

"I have to call the Aurors" Harry said. Harry got on the wizard mobile, and there was some quiet conversation. Finally Harry said "The Aurors want all four of them to be with us. They feel that there is a chance we will be mobbed at Diagon Alley. I think it's kind of stupid, but we'd better humour them."

About ten o'clock Harry and Ginny took the floo to Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes, and walked out of the office. The four Aurors were there to meet them. They were able to step outside without attracting too much attention.

Harry and Ginny had not gotten more than a few feet down the road when people started to notice them. "Harry Potter!" someone said. "Harry Potter is here" said someone else. "Harry and Ginny Potter" said someone else.

An old witch went up to Harry and said "Thank you for defeating Voldemort! His death eaters killed my grandson."

"You're welcome" Harry said. "Please call him Tom Riddle. He was just a man, a very bad man and wizard but just man."

Another and then another and still another person wanted to thank Harry, and soon he was swamped, to the great discomfort of the Aurors.

Finally Rita Skeeter appeared, along with what appeared to be a couple of other reporters. Rita shouted out "Is it true you are the richest wizard in the world?"

Harry turned to the Aurors and said "I won't talk to her. Get her out of here."

Rita angrily confronted Harry. "What kind of a dictator do you think you are, ordering an honest reporter away, keeping the public from knowing about you?"

One of the other reporters said "I'm from the American Magical Times. We want to hear about you as well. When are you going to talk to reporters?"

"We came here to shop, not to talk to reporters" Harry said.

"Get Cindy here" Ginny whispered to Harry.

Harry said "Expecto Patronus" and told his stag Patronus "Get me Cindy Base." A short time later Cindy and her photographer were there.

"Cindy, could you get the name of these reporters. I want them to leave us alone, but you can come along, and give them a story after we are back home" Harry said. "Offer to take their questions, and then we will see if we want to answer them. Be kind to everyone but Rita Skeeter; don't ever tell her anything!"

Cindy went to briefly talk to the other reporters, and then was back to walk through Diagon Alley with Harry and Ginny and the four Aurors. Harry and Ginny went into Flourish and Blotts to see if they could find any books for presents. Ginny found some Quidditch books she was interested in, and Harry wrote down the titles. Ginny noted some books that Harry was interested in, but Harry wanted to see if his parents had any of them before they bought duplicate books. They found a few books for other members of the family. The Aurors did a reasonably good job of keeping other people from bothering Harry and Ginny.

The rest of the shopping went in a similar fashion. They stopped and looked in the window of Tabitha's Terrific Toys. "Teddy's still too small for any of Tabitha's toys" said Ginny.

"Did you have any favourite toy from Tabitha's when you were growing up?" asked Harry.

"Actually we didn't get many purchased presents" said Ginny. "We were usually really poor. I did get a dollhouse one Christmas, the only person in the family who got a store bought present. I still don't know how they afforded it, or who paid for it. I know all my brothers were really happy."

"What happened to the dollhouse?' asked Harry.

"It was in my room when the Burrow was destroyed" said Ginny. "I had kind of hoped I could pass it on to my daughter, if I had a daughter, if I got married."

"I could buy you another one" Harry said.

"Wouldn't be the same thing" said Ginny. "Maybe if we have a daughter."

They had lunch at the Leakey Cauldron, eating with Cindy and the photographer, talking to a number of the patrons, before going back to the New Burrow in the early afternoon, with Cindy.

Cindy had a list of questions that the other reporters had asked her to ask Harry and Ginny. Not including Rita the day had started out with two other reporters, but before they left Diagon Alley Cindy had nine reporters from, since some of them worked for more than one publication, over a dozen publications that wanted answers.

"They are going to publish something, even if only real bad guesses, Harry" said Cindy. "Better that we try and give honest answers."

"I hate this publicity, like I'm all that special, but I guess we're going to have to put up with it" Harry replied.

"Are you the richest wizard in the world?" Cindy asked.

Harry reluctantly replied "No, but there is no question that with Tom Riddle's estate I'm really rich. We are trying to do a lot of good with the money. There are still a lot of things we don't know about how much money there is, and how much needs to be returned to Ministries or other people."

"People want to know how you are using the money, Harry" Cindy said. "Who knows what you are doing with it? Any story of your money helping someone else is a good story."

Harry replied "Fleur Weasley, Bill's wife, probably knows more than anyone else about the charitable activities of the Harry Potter Estate. She goes over some of that every other week or so. There is a Harry and Ginny Potter Foundation, but we try to be as quiet as we can be about what we do."

"I'd love to talk to her about it" Cindy said. "Maybe if we have several stories about other people and how the trust is helping them we can have attention diverted from your attention to the good the Estate is doing."

"Excellent idea" Harry answered. "After we are done I will give you a note so Fleur will feel free to talk to you, or I'll go over things with you and Fleur."

Cindy looked at her notes. "Is Ginny pregnant?"

Ginny said "No."

"Are you going to have children?" Cindy asked. "How many and when?"

"I expect we will, eventually. The rest is no one's business but ours" Ginny said.

"Where are you living? Do you have a mansion befitting someone as rich as you are?" Cindy asked looking at more notes.

"Right now we're living in a couple of rooms at Hogwarts while Ginny finishes school" Harry said. "We are staying here with Ginny's parents when we are not at Hogwarts. I do have a house that I inherited. We have no interest in revealing where it is, but it's no big mansion."

"Any truth that you are the best dueller that the Romanian Defence against Dark Arts classes have ever seen?" Cindy asked.

"How do you answer that kind of question?" Harry retorted. "I was the best student in this class, but I lost one duel. I learned a lot in the class, but I'm certainly not going to say I know more about duelling than anyone else in the world."

"Are you Gawain Robards boss, or is he your boss? Are you planning on taking over the Ministry?" Cindy asked.

"Gawain is my boss, and I have no desire to be Minister of Magic" Harry retorted.

"A lot of these questions are very stupid" Cindy said. "I can answer some of them for you. The only thing I'm really unsure of is Switzerland. There are a lot of questions about your relationship to the Rothchilds and Tom Riddle and what you inherited, prophesies. I didn't understand some of the questions."

"I don't have any answers" Harry said. "It's all real confusing to me too. I guess we are just going to wait and see what develops."

"There are a lot of questions about the Elder Wand, Harry" Cindy said.

"Tell all those reporters that if they mention anything about the Elder Wand you are never going to give them any more information" Harry firmly responded.

"How is it my position to tell them anything?" a very concerned Cindy asked. "I'm just a reporter for the Daily Prophet. You've been very good to me, but I really don't work for you."

"I want you to work for me, Cindy, full or part time. I don't need to be talking to all these reporters" Harry said. "I'm going to call Bill Weasley and see if we can put you on the payroll."

"That will compromise my ability to be an objective reporter" Cindy said, quite concerned.

"Fine, I'll make sure it's worth your while" Harry replied. Harry called Bill, and soon Bill and Fleur were there. Harry described what he wanted, and after maybe forty five minutes of discussion they all agreed on what they were going to try and do. Fleur was going to be in charge of negotiating a contract with the Daily Prophet to allow Cindy to function as sort of a house reporter for the Potters, and the Harry Potter Estate was going to pay part of her wages. Fleur was also going to give Cindy stories about all the good things the Harry Potter Estates were doing.

After a few more questions Cindy was finally done. Cindy promised Harry and Fleur that she would try to make sure they saw any articles written on any member of the Potter or Weasley family.

Later that afternoon Harry told Ginny "I'd like to go to the house at Godric's Hollow to see what is there. I suppose I ought to see if there are any books or other things there that I ought to bring back. Maybe there are notes in the text books or other things that I really ought to find and bring back. I know I want to find out how they made the Marauder's Map."

"I'd really like that" Ginny said. "I don't feel like I know your parents at all. Maybe by seeing some of your parents school work or other notes and photographs I can get a feeling for them."

"I hardly feel I know them either" Harry said.

* * *

_Even Muggles have reasonably good pain medication for giving birth; this does not mean that it is not very very hard work, but when we had our four children the only woman in the maternity ward screaming was one that expected birth to be agony. My wife does say that no man would go through it! I expect that the witches have even better ways of controlling the pain, but I would expect it would still be very hard work._


	24. Ch 24 The Attack at Godric's Hollow

Ch 24 The Attack at Godric's Hollow

_As they were getting seated they could hear Al VanLente's booming voice say "I told you this was going to happen! What the hell did you think was going to happen?" _

Thanks again to my beta PokePotterfan93 for his work on this chapter. He is the reason the chapters are getting posted so quickly.

* * *

Tuesday they went to Godric's Hollow to look for any information on how Harry's father had made the Marauders map, and to collect personal papers and books. Kyle and Tammy Lewis went to the Hollow with Harry and Ginny, but stayed well out of sight and let Harry and Ginny go into the house alone.

Harry and Ginny apparated to the area of the house. Harry stood back but Ginny went right up, and tried to open the gate. There seemed to be a barrier preventing her from getting in, but then her engagement ring began to glow, and the barrier seemed to melt away.

"There are wards around the house, but I could get past. It looks like since we are married you will not have any problem" Harry said. "Hand in hand they walked through the gate and into the small house. They looked around the main floor, and found a little room that was obviously used as an office. It had two modest sized desks side by side, and more books and papers than you could imagine could fit into the small room.

"When we get our house done all this will go into our library" Harry said. "For now I'd like to see if I can find out how Dad and the Marauders made the Marauders Map." Harry went to his father's desk, and Ginny went to Lilly's. Eventually Ginny found a lot of notes and personal correspondence. There were also notes in most of Lilly's text books, and Ginny decided that most of the papers in the desk and text books should go with her and Harry, and took them out to be shrunk and brought back to the New Burrow.

Harry found and shrunk a lot of material, and finally found a large portfolio that would not open. He tried several things, and nothing worked, and finally tried "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." The portfolio opened and inside was pages and pages of notes, and several early permutations of the Marauders Map. There were also notes on how to make two potions, with what looked like his father's firm handwriting and what Harry thought may have been his mother's. "Ginny, look at this" Harry said.

"Ginny, who had looked through a number of things Lilly had written, took one look at the notes and said "That's your mother's handwriting!"

"She helped with the Marauders Map?" an astonished Harry questioned.

"I haven't seen a lot, Harry" Ginny said, "But I think that your mum and dad had a pretty complex relationship for the seven years they spent at Hogwarts." Ginny had found a small box labelled 'James and Lilly, letters.' In the small box was a huge collection of notes, way way more than could fit in the small box without magic. The addresses on the front gave away some of the relationship. James was obviously smitten with Lilly from the start, writing to the 'Lovely Lilly Evans' and "Lilly the best Potion Student at Hogwarts' and even a note to 'Lilly the fifth M.' "Would that be the fifth Marauder?" Ginny asked.

'The impossible James Potter' one letter had on the front, 'James the Arrogant' said quite a number of them, 'To James Potter, in hopes you are still in school after your last idiot stunt' said still another. Ginny had only read a couple of letters, but the one addressed to James after the 'idiot stunt' could have been a howler. Ginny was surprised it was not written on red paper. It was obvious from that letter that Lilly was furious, and as the same time really cared for James.

It took about 2 hours for them to find what they were looking for, but eventually they had a small library of books and notes that they shrunk and took out with them. Harry and Ginny left the house, and saw Kyle and Tammy Lewis waiting for them. They seemed to be trying to stay a little discrete, staying close but not being too obvious. "I'd like to go past the monument to my parents" Harry said.

Harry and Ginny were almost to the monument on the square when they heard Kyle shout "SHIELDS UP! BACK TO BACK!" Harry sprang to life, immediately putting up shields just in time to keep from being hit from by several spells. Harry concentrated on keeping the shields up. He and Ginny pressed their backs against each other and Harry said "we are going to turn around slowly. Try to see how many attackers there are. Are Kyle and Tammy OK?" They turned around 360 degrees with Harry concentrating on keeping the shields up and Ginny trying to see what she could. Kyle and Tammy were firing spells as they started, but before they turned half way around everything got quiet.

Kyle ran over to Harry and Ginny and almost yelled, the strain evident in his voice "Everyone seems to have left. I think they were six or eight of them, but as soon as they saw that there was someone other than you two, and that we were firing spells at them, they left. Not before Tammy caught a couple of bad curses, though. I need to take her to St. Mungo's right away, and I need you to come with me." They all hurried over to Tammy, Kyle picked her up and the 4 went to the hospital. Between the first shouting by Kyle until the time they got to the hospital no more than 5 minutes had taken place.

5 minutes later Jim and Sue Shook showed up at the hospital. Jim asked "What in the world is going on? We got word that you two had been attacked!"

Harry briefly told them "Tammy is hurt. There was an attack on us, Ginny and me, and as soon as they saw what was happening Kyle and Tammy shouted to us and started to fire spells to protect us. The six or eight wizards who were attacking us disappeared very quickly, but not before hitting Tammy. I don't know what is wrong with her, but Kyle is in with her right now."

"I'll go in and see Tammy and Kyle" Sue said. "Maybe I can find out how Tammy is, if she is badly hurt."

Jim said "Did either of you see any of the attackers?"

"No" said Harry. "I just saw the spells and put up shields, because that's what Kyle ordered us to do, and to protect Ginny."

"You don't remember anything more?" asked Jim.

"It all happened really fast" Ginny volunteered.

Within another 15 minutes there were 4 more Aurors, 2 North American, one French and one Chinese. Everybody had to be brought up to date. Sue came back with more information from Kyle. "It looks like Tammy is going to recover, but they want her in the hospital at least overnight. Sometimes curse wounds are tricky. It does not look like she suffered any permanent damage."

A short time later Kyle came out, saying "Tammy going to recover, but she is going to be in the hospital at least overnight. I'm glad the attackers were not very coordinated. That could have been a disaster. I'm going to go back to the site of the attack to see if I can help the team that's on the site identifying any leftover spells or evidence. I should be back in an hour or so."

Harry said "I'd like to go with you."

Jim said "Harry, our standing orders are to get you and Ginny to a safe place if there is an attack. We're not to let you leave until the situation is under control. They want you, not us! As long as they want you, you being there is going to make things more complicated and more dangerous to everybody else! As long as one of the two teams that is shadowing you two is out of commission and another has not been assigned the situation is not under control! Besides this attack changes everything! Stay here until Al or someone from his team is here."

"You didn't notify Al?" Harry asked in horror.

Jim responded "Hell Harry, the whole Ministry knows about the attack. Everything is in an uproar. Stay here please and don't make the situation much worse!"

For the first 10 or 15 minutes after the attack Harry and Ginny were just operating on adrenalin, trying to remember any detail of the attack. Finally Harry asked Jim "what could we have done differently?"

Jim said "There was some discussion early on about having more security when you or Ginny were out in a more public area, but we did not want to get more intrusive either. As long as there had not been an attack it was hard to argue for more security. Harry, this attack changes things."

Harry was very concerned about his safety and even more about Ginny's safety. Ginny was getting mad. She wanted to know what they could do to catch these dark wizards. They were also getting impatient to do something. After about 2 hours they were told they were going to take a secure floo to the new Potter/American Auror headquarters, and go to a large conference room there. Harry and Ginny were met by Bill and Fleur, Ron and Hermione, and Arthur and Molly Weasley, and all the other Weasleys. They were also met by several Aurors. As they were getting seated they could hear Al VanLente's booming voice say "I told you this was going to happen! What the hell did you think was going to happen?"

Al came striding into the room, followed by a very concerned Kingsley Shacklebolt and a very harried and worried Gawain Robards. Gawain said "our Aurors were not assigned to protect Harry" as they walked into the room. Al responded "There is no way in hell you would have been allowed to protect Harry. First, he is paying for the Aurors shadowing his family himself. Second, if you had your way there would not be anybody protecting him. To quote 'Is Harry Potter that important that we need to spend precious resources guarding him?' Damn right he is that important and damn right we do need to guard them, Gawain. These idiots want to hurt Harry above all else, or his family."

Damn!" said Al, "right in the middle of my Christmas vacation. It's probably not the way you intended to spend your Christmas vacation either, is it Harry, Ginny, Weasley clan? Damn! Damn! Damn!" Each damn was punctuated by Al's fist pounding on the conference table. "This is one of those failures I talked about. Way too close. OK, what went wrong?"

Harry said "Well Ginny and I were safe at Hogwarts and Diagon Alley and the New Burrow. How much security do you have at the New Burrow?"

"A lot more than you can see, Harry" said Al. "There are a lot of people to protect, but most of them do not move outside the protected perimeter. You are paying for six Aurors for the family in addition to the four for you, and the ministry usually has a couple close or assigned as ready backup. We have had a couple of times where we found what we thought were dark wizards scouting around the area, but since it is rural and there is no reason for them to be there we have been able to scare them away easily."

Harry said "But Godric's Hallow is a place where small groups of wizards would not attract attention, and you had no idea who should be there and who should not be there. And once we went into my parents' house the dark wizards had time to get backup, and we only had 2 Aurors protecting us."

Al brightened up. "I think we may be able to keep you and Ginny alive if you keep thinking like that. What we need to do is to assign extra protection when you or Ginny are going to be in a place that may be dangerous?"

"Plenty of advance notice?" asked Harry.

"Yea" said Al, "Hell on spontaneity. We create safe environments, and when you are going to leave those environments you give us plenty of advance notice. And we respond with enough protection."

"How am I going to function as an Auror?" asked Harry.

"You never were going to be an ordinary Auror, Harry" said Al. "You are always going to have several Aurors around you, and although we cannot protect you from all danger you are too valuable to get killed for some stupid reason."

"Do you have any ideas on who attack us?" Harry asked.

"Not really" Gawain said. "Although I didn't agree at first I believe you do need protection. The Death Eaters and their allies have every reason in the world to hate you, and there are rumours out there that they are determined to kill you in revenge for killing Riddle."

The rest of the meeting was working out details on how the enhanced protection was going to work. Al announced that he was as he said "pulling rank" and his family was going to spend Christmas in the United States, but that they would be back before the first of the year. Meanwhile Harry and Ginny were not to go out of protected areas without arranging extra protection well in advanced. Al wanted Ron and Hermione to have extra protection, and in fact wanted any Weasley to get extra protection if they were going to spend any time in a "dangerous" area. The Weasley clan was frightened enough by the attack to agree.

Harry, Hermione and all the Weasleys went back to the New Burrow to talk about this new development. Until they could catch the dark wizards they were all going to have to be more careful.

Wednesday December 23 Harry and Ginny spent the day helping Molly decorate the house for Christmas. Ron and Hermione were busy at WWW, and as part of his compensation Ron was getting a share in the ownership of WWW. Harry would probably have worked at WWW as well, but Al told him to lay low until he was back and they had a chance to re-evaluate security.

Harry had his first chance to really look carefully at the New Burrow since talking to Al and Dan VanLente about Magical and Muggle space. The New Burrow was built on the foundation of a Muggle building, and because of this the rooms were all at least a minimum size. It was fully wired for electricity and the Internet, and somehow that wiring adjusted when rooms changed in size.

Molly really liked the look of wood, and there was beautiful wood wainscoting about 3 feet up on almost all the walls. Molly never realized that the antique wood finishes that she liked were more expensive than simpler looking woodwork. Above that in the kitchen was a scene of the gardens and orchards, magically painted to look like a kind of ideal vision of the outside of the New Burrow. The scene was painted to be able to give out light, and in the evening if you wanted good light in the kitchen you could make the scene a daylight scene. There were only a couple of Wizard Artists in the world who could paint a scene like this, and Harry never told Molly how much this scene cost. All of the walls could give out light. The dining room was separated from the kitchen by sliding doors. It had more conventional wallpaper like pattern on the wall, but you could open both rooms to each other and extend the kitchen painting onto the dining room. Harry noticed that there was nowhere near enough room for the sliding doors to open all the way with the little stub of wall that was left, but this sort of thing never seemed to matter in magical spaces.

The library was about 30% full of books, including copies of just about every home schooling book or Hogwarts text book any of the children ever used, plus most of the standard Wizarding reference books. Of course all of these books were brand new. They took the books and notes that they had taken from Harry's parents' house and put them in the library as well.

The living room looked like a prosperous wizard's house with leather seating, a big fireplace, plenty of gas light sconces on the walls, and big windows on the end wall. There was a big glass double door between the living room and the front yard to enable the yard to function as an extension of the living room on summer days. The area between the 2 L shaped suites of rooms in the back of the house was a patio with a glassed in ceiling, and you could control the temperature of that area with magic as well.

The upstairs bedrooms all had either large beds or pairs of smaller beds, and dressers and chairs, usually a desk. Most of the furniture in each room matched, but all of the rooms were different.

The rooms that Andromeda Tonks lived in had her furniture and possessions in them. The furniture in Teddy's room, plus toys and anything else of Teddy's, was in a bedroom just upstairs of Arthur and Molly's room; Teddy had come to them with almost nothing so Ginny and Molly had gotten things for him, and at Harry's insistence had gotten new nice looking furniture and toys.

Molly had been able to get copies of photographs, awards, and some other family memorabilia to put on the walls, but she still felt that the house was empty. Of course most people felt the old Burrow was a cluttered and quirky place, but Molly accumulated people and stuff and losing all the accumulation of a lifetime was very hard on her.

Harry had a lot of stuff from Grimmauld Place, but there was no place in Molly's house for snake themed sconces and Black family possessions.

December 24 turned out to be a very quiet day. Harry and Ginny played with Teddy. Harry, Ginny, Arthur, Molly and Andromeda talked. Harry and Ginny had plenty of time together, to talk about anything and everything. They even started to sort out the books and notes that they had brought back from Godric's Hallow, although they did not get into reading the information, just sort of sorting it out so they knew what they had.

George and Angelica were closing the store at 5:00 PM, and then going over to the Johnson house for Christmas Eve. Hermione left for her parents' house about 3:00 PM, and Ron followed at 5:00 PM. Percy was going to be spending Christmas Eve with Audrey's parents. Charlie was tending dragons Christmas Eve, but would be at the house in the morning. Bill and Fleur were going to spend Christmas Eve in France with her family.

Christmas day Harry and Ginny got up at 7:00 and were downstairs by 8:00 to help with breakfast, but with house elves there really was no need. Molly was beginning to teach Berry how she liked food cooked, and they were slowly beginning to function as a team. By 9:00 everybody was at the New Burrow for food. The only child was Teddy, and he was about 8 months old. He received his fair share of gifts, but his biggest delight was having all these people pay attention to him. Of course he wowed the crowd by changing his hair to match that of everyone who held him, including Fleur's long, beautiful blond hair. Teddy was close to walking, could crawl or roll to where he wanted to go, and had to be watched every second.

Although the family did not want Christmas to become a meeting about the attack there was plenty of talk about it and about the threat that still hung over the Weasley family.

The 26th was Boxing day, but because it was Saturday WWW was going to be open. George felt that there would be plenty of young witches and wizards eager to spend Christmas money at the store, and in this he was not disappointed. Ron and Hermione tended the Hogsmeade store, and it was well worth their while to be there. So the next time the family got together was the following Sunday morning.

Harry and Ginny did spend part of Saturday with the Potter notes from Godric's Hallow. There was a lot of information about the Marauders Map.

Sunday morning the whole family gathered together again. Percy and Audrey were grinning from ear to ear, and announced that the evening of the 26th Percy had asked Audrey to marry him. They were planning on getting married the first part of July. Hermione was trying to arrange a June wedding. Molly of course gave Audrey a copy of **Witches and Wizards Graphic Guide to Married Sex. **Audrey thanked her future mother-in-law and put the book unopened in her purse. Later when Ginny and Harry were alone Ginny wondered aloud if Percy and Audrey would ever feel free enough to open the book. When she thought of the two of them having sex she started to giggle, and before she was through she had Harry laughing as well.

Molly was ecstatic with the thoughts of all these weddings to plan. Her big chance to have a formal wedding for her only daughter had been frustrated by the rather quick wedding of Ginny and Harry, but she was determined to make the most of daughter-in-law weddings if she could. It remained to be seen how much help her future daughter-in-laws would allow her to be.


	25. Ch 25 Decorating Grimmauld Place and New

Ch 25 Decorating Grimmauld Place and New Security

_Author and my __first__ beta Mrs_Grainger has done a __marvellous__ job with the tapestry, and anything good in my stories about the tapestry are pale shadows of what she has done. __If you haven't read her two stories on the HPFF site they are worth reading_.

Thanks again to my beta PokePotterfan93 for his work on this chapter. I did some re-writing because of his comments. If you think you could help me do a better job let me know. I am open to more eyes telling me if I'm too wordy (which I am) or missed the point.

The original Peter Pan is from the story by J.M. Barrie.

* * *

Sunday afternoon December 27 Jim and Sue Shook and Kyle and Tammy Lewis met the Potters in the living room of the New Burrow. Before the attack just before Christmas a Monday appointment had been set up at Grimmauld Place with an Interior Decorating company. All 4 Aurors wanted to be present or close by for the meeting tomorrow. They thought they could secure Grimmauld Place but everybody was very nervous. They briefly went over some enhanced security measures they were going to be taking. With Harry's class of Aurors graduating there would be some more manpower, but the enhanced security was going to eat up much of it. It really was important to capture the leadership of the dark wizards.

Jim had a note from Al VanLente that he read, and asked Harry "Could you call Kreacher, please."

Harry called "Kreacher" and the old house elf appeared with a crack.

Jim then asked "Kreacher, how secure is the flue at Grimmauld Place."

Kreacher replied "as long as Kreacher is there no one can come in the house unless Master Harry or Mistress Ginny wants them to come in."

Jim asked "And are you always at the house?"

Kreacher looked at Harry, looked at Jim, looked back at Harry, and then said "Master Harry has asked Kreacher to help Mr. William Weasley, so he cannot always be at Grimmauld Place."

Harry asked "Does a house elf have to be in the house to protect the floo?"

Kreacher answered "Yes, Master Harry."

"Could I assign one of the single house elves to protect the flue and the house, and let you help Bill when he needs you?" asked Harry.

"Yes, but it would be best if they lived there, and there is no space for more house elves. When you remodel the house is there going to be a space for poor old Kreacher?" (Kreacher was being very bold in saying this. House elves usually found some cupboard or small corner in the kitchen to live, and Kreacher was all but asking for his own space.)

Harry asked "What kind of space would you want for yourself and a couple of other house elves? I may not need more help at Grimmauld place, but the North American Aurors use house elves and I might as well be prepared to house a couple for the Aurors."

Kreacher smiled, and he almost looked excited, as he said "You could make nice rooms in the attic, not high enough for big people but nice for house elves. I can show you what to make. The two single house elves would much rather work for Harry Potter than be in the kitchens of Hogwarts where their help is not needed."

Harry said "We will be talking to Griffin and Grunt tomorrow. Think of what you want, and I will make sure they make a heated, air conditioned suite of rooms in the attic for you. And thank you, Kreacher. I will give you an order. Be an example of how house elves should be treated, by living in a comfortable space and not some forgotten dirty little corner. I would really appreciate that."

"I will do as master has commanded" said Kreacher with a big smile on his face.

Later on that night Harry Potter pondered the exchange between himself and Kreacher. He knew that there were changes going on in the relationships between wizards and house elves. He knew that he was a catalysis in fomenting that change, and that his loving and burying Dobby had been very important in starting the change. He was in some ways more comfortable dealing with an independent Kreacher than he was in dealing with an obedient and fawning Kreacher, and he sure liked this Kreacher more than the first one he met, the old hostile Black house elf. At the same time he did not have any idea how many things the old house elf had been doing, and he was not at all sure if it was good to try and find out. He knew that he was going to have to talk to his brother-in-law Bill about Kreacher soon.

Monday about 9:00 AM Harry, Ginny and the Aurors went over to Grimmauld Place and met with Mr. Grunt and a Jack K., the interior designer that John Braun had found. They spent about an hour looking at different styles of decorating, narrowing down what types of furniture and rooms they most liked.

Harry and Ginny had never talked about what they liked in furniture and home decorating. Neither of them liked 'frilly' furniture. Harry said "This type of furniture and decorating remind me of Aunt Petunia." They didn't like ultra-modern either. They finally settled on an Edwardian English style of furniture for most of the house, a very Old English style of furniture, with nice wood finishes. It just looked like a comfortable style they could live with.

Then they went down to the kitchen. After some discussion they decided on a kitchen that was going to be very modern and very light. The cupboards were all European style, almost looking like it came out of IKEA. There were going to be a full complement of new appliances, gas stove and oven, electric refrigerator and freezer with magic backup in case the electricity went out due to too much magic or to forces outside the house. The decorator had a fantastic appliance catalogue from Whirlpool for Wizards. There was also going to be a full complement of gas, magical, natural and electric lighting.

The table and chairs were going to be modern as well, all wood and heavier than some of the new modern tables and chairs. The table was going to be the right size for 8 chairs at its smallest, but when needed they could magically expand the table to hold as many as 24, with the table growing as well. Of course the room would also have to expand, but all the utilities that were being put in allowed for the expansion of the room. It all looked like magic, and it was, but to make it work took more work than Harry realized. There was of course going to be a very large fireplace attached to the floo network, with room for a couple of large cauldrons being used at the same time as someone used the floo network. The fireplace was going to be fixed up so it could burn either gas or wood. Some potions only worked if they were made with a wood fire.

The kitchen was going to be so nice that Harry decided that the Potions room down the basement ought to be redone in a similar style, and that is how the Potters came to have one of the nicest and most well equipped potions making rooms in Britain.

The two main floors, the one with the living and dining room and the one above it with the large drawing room, were going to be done in a much more classical style, leather overstuffed furniture, antique wood finishes. The dining room had a similar size table, which could grow from 8 to 24; with of course you duplicating chairs as you needed more seating.

The living room was similar in style to the dining room, with overstuffed leather chairs and wood tables and chairs. The living room was also going to serve as a library, with plenty of bookshelves and a large desk at one end. All the windows were at the ends of the room, and at the window overlooking the garden they put in a built in window seat surrounded by bookshelves, and ideal place for children to sit and read, and large enough for an adult to sit with their feet on the window seat and a child on each side.

The Drawing room on the next level was more of a challenge. It had a large tapestry of the Black family, with certain members blasted off. The colour was dark, and the whole thing was ugly. At the same time it was obviously a very old and valuable heirloom, and Harry did not want to just throw it away. As they were talking about it Jack the decorator asked "Is there any way to change the colour of this huge thing?"

Kreacher said "Master only has to touch the tapestry."

Harry and the decorator changed the tapestry until everybody was satisfied with the colour. Harry asked "Kreacher, can the names that have been blasted off be restored?"

"Kreacher try" Kreacher replied, and he took a ladder that was in the house from the previous construction and after some muttering and work restored the names. Harry looked at the tapestry again. He said to no one in particular "I wish the Potter family could be on there." Kreacher answered "That is no problem, master. Give me a few minutes." Kreacher went up on the ladder and started moving some things around, and eventually the Potter family tree was on the tapestry."

The decorator looked wide eyed at what was being done. "This is going to be hard to decorate around, but it is such a magnificent piece we need to keep it."

Harry asked Kreacher "Could you put the Weasley family on it as well?" Kreacher put the Weasley family on the tapestry.

Mr. Grunt looked at his watch. "I'm sure Kreacher could do more to the tapestry, but we have more work to do" he said.

Jack the decorator had made a couple of sketches of ideas for the drawing room, but it was going to take more thought. He promised to have several ideas by the end of the week. They were going to put a small bathroom on all three of the lower floors, but the small bedroom that was part of the drawing room floor was going to be eliminated.

The Aurors did not want anyone going out for lunch, so a lunch was brought in before the group tackled the bedrooms.

The next floor was going to hold the master bedroom, master bath, and a smaller bedroom that was going to be designed as a nursery. The Master bedroom was going to have a walk in closet, and rather modern painted furniture, with a spring theme that matched the apple blossom spring scent of Ginny's hair, but somehow looked like, Harry could never quite describe it but Ginny's hair smelled or felt like apple blossoms as smelt at the old -Burrow, and not just Apple Blossoms. There was tartness to her shampoo, to any scent she wore, a little sharpness. The furniture in the room was just a little edgy as well.

Harry was amazed as the decorator and Ginny talked about what she liked. Harry could do a lot of magic, but turning a feeling that was currently expressed as a scent and making it come alive, the style of bedding and the decorations on furniture and walls, was as much magic to him as anything he had ever seen. When they were done the design of the bedroom looked like his and Ginny's bedroom, almost like he was walking into Ginny's mind. It was not frilly feminine and Harry was thrilled with it but it was Ginny's dream room. Harry was very happy at how this house decorating project was turning out. The closest he had ever come to having a home was Hogwarts, or the Burrow. This was going to be home, their home!

Neither Harry nor Ginny had any idea how luxurious a master bathroom could be. Two sinks, a two person shower, a large 2 person tub, enough storage. It was going to be a room not only for the necessities but to enjoy as a couple.

The other room was outfitted as a nursery. It was going to be Teddy's room when he came and visited, and Harry and Ginny knew that some time it was going to hold their own children. It had its own bath, sink and loo, a special loo one that could shrink down to a child's size, and a tub that would be ideal for a small child to take a bath in.

There was enough furniture from the Black family for the rest of the bedrooms. All of it was going to be re-finished, and snake decorations were changed into some other decoration, mostly lions or deer, the colours freshened up. All the walls were new in the entire house, and they all needed painting. There was nothing fancy about the rest of the bedrooms. As Harry and Ginny had children the décor of the other rooms would be decided.

The entire house had enough gas lights to get by in case they were needed, electrical lights and electrical outlets. Each room had an outlet for phone or internet and another for television, usually several outlets, all home run down to a utility room in the basement. All the utilities were put in for the potentially changing size of magical spaces, although everything was "Muggle space" right now.

Both 2 top floor bathrooms were the same, nice bathrooms with slightly smaller showers and only normal size tubs. Both room entered a common area with 2 sinks, and the room with the shower and bath was separate, as was the room with the loo, allowing 2 people to share the bathroom area with some privacy.

From the upstairs rear bedrooms you could see the open area in the back. Since they were on the level below the attic they decided to do the house elf area first, then the garden.

Kreacher and Harry had ideas on what to do with the house elf area. Harry wanted a small staircase so the house elves did not have to apparate to get into and out of the attic, and they settled on a spiral staircase too small for adults (Harry and Ginny could both just use it, but they were small people) but ideal for house elves. The rooms were small and low ceiling, but comfortable with the heating and air conditioning from the main house continuing up to the attic. There was a living room area with a skylight, a bath, and 3 bedrooms, each bedroom big enough for two house elves and a baby if necessary. The space was furnished with furniture sized for a house elf. The beds were at Kreacher's request made big enough for a couple. Kreacher remarked that he could never remember having a bed that was his own; even at Hogwarts where the quarters were far better than for most house elves the beds were large shared beds, not individual ones, with little space for privacy. The space was reasonably primitive by modern standards, but maybe the most luxurious house elf quarters in Britain. Kreacher was almost in tears by the time Harry, Jack and Mr. Grunt were done. He said "Kreacher is doing what master wants. Kreacher cannot thank master enough. This is too much. This is too much." At the same time he did not say no to do anything that was being proposed, and Harry and Ginny knew that if it really was too much Kreacher would have said something.

There was also a pull down stairs to the rest of the attic, for owls or storage.

They finally went to the garden. Mr. Grunt said that if they wanted to put in a garage this was the time to do it. "How can we get a car back here?" asked Harry. Mr. Grunt explained, "Since there are already garages at the end of the street, you put in a magic garage door in the same place as an existing garage door. When the magic door opens you drive into your garage. We need about 10 feet of space in the back yard for a 25 foot long garage. This kind of "impossible" magic use of space always delighted Harry. At the kitchen level there was a door to the garage, and there was a door from the garage to the outside. The top of the garage was made into an extension of the dining room, and from the dining room you could walk on to the top of the garage. The rest of the garden was at the kitchen level, and it included a play area for children and some sitting area for adults, plus nice plantings. That design, like the drawing room, was going to be done at the end of the week.

Mr. Grunt was going to finish the house elves area first, so they would have a place to stay and so there could be a house elf protecting the house at all times. The rest would take time, but by spring the house would be finished and ready for Harry and Ginny to move in.

Tuesday the 29th Harry had to spend part of the morning reading some reports from Bill, and late in the morning he had to be at the office for a couple of hours. Ginny came along, and Bill was glad to include her.

When it was close to lunch time Bill asked Harry and Ginny "Why don't the two of you eat lunch with Fleur and me. There is a nice pub close to here, with booths that are private and with a Muffliato spell can be totally secret and private. Fleur and I work too hard, and we work to try and get a little time together away from the office most days."

Fleur was in an office right next door to Bill's, with a wall between the two that seemed to be able to appear and vanish like, well like magic. Bill said something and a window opened onto the room next door. Fleur nodded and the wall vanished, and Bill and Fleur's desks were suddenly next to each other. "This is real handy when Fleur and I are working on things together" Bill said.

Harry never lost his delight in some of the ways magic made things easier.

After they sat down and ordered food at the restaurant Fleur said "Beel and Arry working too ard! Work work work. Is necessary but as to stop. Beel and I go back to my ome after Christmas for vacation. Is necessary to ave lettle vacation."

"I'm certainly not forcing you to work this hard, Bill, Fleur" Harry said.

"No, Harry, you're not" Bill sighed. "There is just so much to do, and I feel the weight of all the money and people I've been given to manage. You are doing so much good for the Wizarding world with this estate, and I just feel I have to do a good job, for you and for everybody."

"We ave summer place, family. Beel and I ave been there. Arry, Ginny, you go too. Everybody work too ard!" Fleur exclaimed.

"Thank you, Fleur" Ginny replied, filing away this information. She was going to have to get Harry away from work, and knowing that Fleur's family had a vacation place might come in handy someday.

"I am so lucky to have been adopted by the Weasley family, and not just because of Ginny and Ron" Harry said. "Thank you, Fleur, for all you are doing with the charitable work of the estate."

"You are welcome, Arry" a beaming Fleur responded. "Is a pleasure to elp. So many sad stories. So many sad stories. So many ways we elp to make better. Is good!"

"You take care of yourself too, Fleur" Ginny said, reaching over and touching Fleur. "I'm worried that you are working too hard."

"Es only for now" Fleur said. "Es time to think babies soon."

"I know Mum expects grandchildren from you someday" Ginny said.

"Ginny too" Fleur said, reaching over and patting Ginny's hand.

There was a pause, as it appeared both couples were contemplating children and the changes that were bound to come in their lives. Finally Bill said "I am amazed at how good a job Riddle did in, I hate to say he did a good job in killing because killing is so terrible, but Riddle accumulated a lot of assets and power by his killing families. As we get into the oldest of his killings he did a good job of appointing managers. Of course after he disappeared the first time some of those managers began to cheat. When he came back to life he was so focused on you that the really did not care about the money anymore."

Harry and Ginny were very glad to have a chance to talk with Bill and Fleur. "I didn't like Fleur at first" Ginny told Harry after they were back at the New Burrow. "Even when Mum started to like her, after Bill's face was damaged, I wasn't sure I liked her. Too French, to different." Ginny looked right at Harry. "I was wrong. Fleur really cares for all of us, you and me. We are all lucky she married Bill."

They spent the rest of the day playing with Teddy, talking to Molly and the rest of the expanded household including the two Prewetts, and hanging out. They made sure to have enough couple time, including time in bed.

Wednesday Harry and Ginny spent looking over drawings and books that Jack K. had sent over, playing with Teddy, and relaxing. They went over to Neville and Hanna's to visit and see baby Frank. (The Longbottom mansion was on the side of Ottery St. Catchpole closest to the Weasleys', actually across a Muggle road from Harry's property, and was in the area protected by Aurors.) Ginny spent some time looking over her school textbooks, and Harry started to look at the information in the books and papers from his parents. The more he read the more excited he became. His father was an extraordinary wizard, and his mother had notes in her potion book that were almost as good as the notes in Snape's mother's book. Harry could not wait to show Hermione. Harry spent all of his free time Thursday in the library going over the books and papers, and at least half of the time Ginny was in with Harry helping.

Friday morning was New Year's day, but it was going to be a working day for Harry and Ginny. Harry and Ginny were at Grimmauld Place about 8:30 in the morning. Harry had asked Kreacher to help him with the tapestry. They found out that by shrinking the size of the names they could get a lot more people on it, and really show the connections between different wizard families. By doing a little more work Kreacher was able to bring out small symbols that could show if a person was home, traveling, in danger. It was very much like Molly's clock in what it showed.

They spent some time looking at it. Most of the married couples had golden threads connecting them, some thicker than others, some shone more than others. Occasionally there was no thread, or only a dark one. They asked Kreacher about those, but Kreacher said "house elves not talk about that. Not good. Not good." Some of the names seemed to glow, and the strongest golden threads seemed to usually go between glowing names. Once in a while there was a golden hued name and thread connected to a name that did not glow. Harry asked about that too, but Kreacher just shook his head.

Harry asked about the rings. Kreacher added a very small symbol to the couples that wore the rings. Most of them had golden glows behind their names and strong golden threads, but not all. "The magic helps but does not force" said Kreacher.

Kreacher was asked if he could add house elf family trees to the tapestry. Kreacher was alarmed at this. "Why does master need to know?"

"Because Harry loved Dobby, and loves you, and wants to see house elf families too" said Harry. Kreacher looked up at Harry for a long time after this remark, and just before Harry was going to say something Kreacher put house elf names in small letters, showing who was mated to whom. Mates often did not live in the same household, which bothered Harry. Occasionally a house elf would have 2 mates, just like a human, and Kreacher said that was always because one of the mates died. "Masters could not force house elves to mate. That was in the magic from when the house elves were enslaved" said Kreacher. Kreacher had had a mate, but she had died. Their children, two girls, were serving other households.

Harry asked Kreacher "when you die are you the end of the line of house elves serving this house?" Kreacher bowed low and said "The widow of a friend would like to come here, but house elves do not know how to ask. You would have to arrange for a replacement. Difficult, expensive, hard. Grabhook knows how."

"What is your lady friend's name?" asked Harry.

"Azalea" said Kreacher.

Harry said "I order you to give me instructions that will tell Grabhook all he needs to know to have your lady friend move in."

Kreacher answered with a big smile "I will obey the most noble Harry Potter, Friend of House Elves and Goblins." Kreacher wrote out on a parchment all the information that Harry needed to give to Grabhook and on another parchment what he had to give to the Ministry to allow Azalea to become a Potter house elf and move in with Kreacher.

Harry asked "Do house elves have to be young to have children?"

Kreacher answered "Even if old, if house elves asked to have children they have to try and obey, and usually can. Even for old house elves like Kreacher elf children are great joy, and great trouble."

Kreacher was getting very good at "suggesting" to Harry things he would like, and if he knew it he was getting very good, much better than almost any of the British house elves, at having a mind of his own and expressing it. There was some magic working between Kreacher and Harry that was changing their relationship, but that was even at this time starting to change the relationships between house elves and witches and wizards in general. Harry said to Kreacher Iif you want family to follow you and your fathers in serving this house then you had better make work of having a family."

Kreacher answered "I will obey, with great joy, most noble and generous Harry Potter."

About this time Jack K had come in. One of Griffin and Grunt's other employees had also come, since both of the owners seemed to be busy. It was New Year's Day, after all. Jack was pleased at the changes in the Tapestry. He had some minor suggestions on the colouring, but the more complex the tapestry became the better he liked it. Jack had a variety of room arrangements, using mostly the same furniture, and could give them several spells that would make certain pieces of furniture appear, others disappear, and the furniture arrange itself in about 10 different ways. Ginny thought that would be nice. Harry was still amazed at all the things magic could do. It really was magical how one room could do so much, and furniture could just appear and disappear and re-arrange itself. That they would have to buy enough furniture for a room and a half was not a problem for Harry.

Harry asked where the furniture went when it disappeared. Jack and the Giffin & Grunt employee had a discussion, and then talked to Kreacher. Jack then answered "There are two possibilities. The first is 'we do not know.' The only problem with this is after a long time you forget what you had disappear, what the family owned. There is a spell to make everything that had disappeared show up again, but that can bring back construction debris, dead mice, old sandwiches, and so much furniture and other stuff that the house is full and the stuff runs out the doors and all over. The other way takes a little work, but you can make a magical room that holds all the stuff you want to keep and send it there. You have to remember to use the correct spell, but then you can find things. We could create a sub-sub basement room for this type of storage if you want."

Harry and Ginny gave their OK to making the magical storage room.

One additional room was decided on, a small private secure office in the basement for Harry, so he could keep confidential documents safe. The door to that room looked like a regular basement wall unless you knew the spells to open it.

At noon Harry and Ginny took the flue to the Potter Estate/Foreign Auror offices. Al VanLente and his son were back, and the vacation was over.

All the Weasley's, their spouses and intendeds, including Percy and Audrey, were there. They all had lunch together, and then the room was rearranged and Al and clan, Kingsley, Gawain Robards, and many Aurors were there. Al said "I want to introduce you to the world's best expert in the kind of magical communication that Hermione discovered with the DA's coins, the kind we use on the back of the wizard mobiles. Every Auror and key ministry executive is going to carry one of these. Everyone we feel is in danger, including all the Weasley family and anyone that looks like they may become part of the Weasley family is going to have one of these, as well as anyone else who logically might be a target of the Death Eaters. They have been reprogrammed to allow you to call for help in several different ways. If you disappear they will remember your last position and we will know where you were. If wards are let down for more than a couple of minutes the phones should be able to send us your position.

They will be charmed so that if the phones are taken away from you they will signal us.

Witches and Wizards, this is Peter Y. Pan."

Peter explained in some detail how the phones worked. He had clear pictures, sort of like a wizard's Power Point presentation. The phones were set up so there was a red "panic button" but the charms on it could sense if you really wanted to push it. You could not push it accidentally, and most witches and wizards could learn easily enough to push it non-verbally as long as the phone was within a couple of hundred feet. Hermione remarked that just that charm was really magical. There were also a lot of other ways you could use it to communicate. Peter explained that talking on the phone and many of the other more advanced things Muggles use a mobile for could also be done with these, but only using the Muggle technology. Someone asked why, was there not enough bandwidth in magical space. They had magical radio. Peter said that if he really wanted to know to see him after class, yes there was a bandwidth problem but it was a lot more complicated than that.

Gawain explained some of what had been going on the last 2 weeks, mentioned the attack on Harry and Ginny, and deferred to Al to explain more about the attack. It looked to Harry that Gawain was the nominal head of the department, but with Kingsley's support Al had effectively taken over running the department.

Al explained to everyone about the concept of "safe space." All the living areas of everyone there, the Weasley family, all the Aurors, everyone that potentially were at risk, had wards around the space, and the wards were going to be strengthened. They all were going to include one of the mobiles and some other magical way of communicating back to the headquarters so if the wards were broken there would be at least 2 and sometimes more ways of finding out. Once this was done a team of Aurors was going to be going to every potential victim of the dark wizards, the escaped death eaters, and strengthen the wards around their houses and places of employment. The first families that were going to be included were the Grangers and the Dursleys.

The meeting lasted about 3 hours. When it was done Al and Kingsley wanted to speak with Harry alone, and Ginny spent some time with her family as Harry took the other 2 to his office. They all sat down and Harry waited for one of them to speak.

Kingsley spoke first. "Harry, I want you to know that Gawain Robards is a good man. He was my partner for some years as an Auror. He was and is intensely loyal to the Ministry and to the Auror department and it was very hard on him when Tom Riddle's people were running the ministry. He was my second in command when I ran the department, and he engineered his own demotion so he could serve doing a few of the necessary tasks that still had to be done while avoiding doing any of the bad things. Gawain is not the kind of dynamic inspiring leader we need in the department, but he is the best we have. All the other logical candidates either compromised themselves too much over the last year or are weaker than Gawain.

In your generation there is one logical candidate for the head of the department, and that is you. You are both too young and too inexperienced to head the department now, but starting today you are going to be groomed for the position. You could mess up and loose the right to lead the department, but unless you do not grow into the position it will be yours someday."

Al then said "You will be working closely with me and Dan and other managers of the Aurors. We need you to learn the difference between doing and managing. We also need you to learn how to find and promote good subordinates. Starting tomorrow morning you will be working with me or with someone I delegate to learn how to lead this department. We are not publicizing it, and as Kingsley said you could still mess up, but it is an open secret that you are being groomed for the position."

Harry said "I'll do my best. Thank you for your confidence in me."

As Harry was in his meeting Ginny was waiting with her parents. Almost everybody else had gone on to whatever they were going to be doing. Molly was looking at the Wizarding mobile in her hand, looking very worried and more than a little upset. "These things are thousands of Galleons" Molly said. "How can anybody afford these?"

"Actually Molly" Arthur replied, "Because they are being bought in bulk, and because Muggle electronics keep getting cheaper and cheaper, they only cost Two Hundred Galleons each. We have talked about the advantages and problems using them are going to cause the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. We think they will get to under Fifty Galleons and under Ten Galleons a month, and at that price almost every Witch and Wizard is going to want one."

"And you don't use a wand, but you push these little buttons?" Molly questioned. "And you can talk to Muggles and our people with this?" It was obvious to Arthur and Ginny that to Molly the mobile was as powerful and scary as magic was to Muggles.

* * *

Friday night Ginny was in the kitchen with her mother. Harry was in the living room. He had been playing with Teddy, but after a while Teddy had gotten a little fussy. Harry recognized that Teddy was tired, held him with Teddy's head on Harry's shoulder. Harry patted Teddy on his back and softly talked to him, and Teddy fell asleep. It felt real good having Teddy sleeping on his shoulder thought Harry. He looked over to where his father-in-law was sitting. Arthur was looking at Harry and Teddy, smiling.

"Feel good?" Arthur asked.

"Fantastic" said Harry. "I feel bad that Ginny and I cannot be his parents, but I don't want to take him away from Andromeda." Harry closed his eyes, and said "In some ways I feel like a teenager, and in other ways I feel so grown up. I'd like life to be more like this, holding Teddy, with a nice family, but I have so many things that need to be done, that people need me to do. Kingsley and Al VanLente asked me, told me, that I am being groomed to take over the Auror department. In some ways that's what I want, but it's like people expect so much of me, like I'm some sort of hero that can make everything right again. I'm just 18. I'm no big hero like Dumbledore or Kingsley."

"You were already something of a hero when you survived Riddle's killing curse as an infant, Harry" said Arthur. "Then at the end of the Tri-Wizard tournament you survived him trying to kill you again. Finally you let yourself be killed, something that took almost unimaginable courage, and survived. And don't forget that in the end you did kill Riddle, and in the most dramatic way possible."

"I didn't do any of that to become a hero" said Harry. "I just wanted to do the right thing. I'm not sure I had much choice."

"Sure you've had choices, Harry" said Arthur. "You said yourself that instead of going to Riddle you could have gotten Ginny and run away."

"And leave the rest of you to be killed? I couldn't do that, and I don't think Ginny could either" said Harry.

"You have enough money to retire, get out of England, go to where no one knows you. You could even go into hiding" said Arthur. "I don't think you will, because as you said so many people are counting on you, but you could."

"I want to help make the world a better place for my children and my children's children, if I didn't try I'd be no better than Fudge" said Harry. "I just cannot see running away and not trying."

"I knew what Kingsley and Al were going to say to you" said Arthur. "You are in my department, after all. And I agree with them, that you are too young and inexperienced to lead the department right now, and that you are the right candidate to lead the department with Robards retires. By the way, Al is a little hard on Gawain. Al's impatient. Gawain has been through a lot of battles, and has always been on the side of the good people in the end. He also knows the rules, and the workings of the Ministry. He's a good man, and you could learn a lot from Gawain."

"Ginny seems impatient too" said Harry. "It's like she always wants not only what she has but more. I hope she gets to play Quidditch for the Harpies, but then she will have to put off becoming a mother. I think she wants to play Quidditch and be a mum and help me catch dark wizards, all at the same time. You can't do that, can you?"

"Ginny will get a lot of what she wants, but not right away and not all at once" said Arthur. "Just keep encouraging her to make a choice, and support her. She is a good person down deep, just as you said a little impatient, wanting everything right away."

"I'm not sorry we got married early" said Harry. "It's a lot easier not having to worry about finding a wife, and we really love each other. I don't have to worry about witches throwing themselves at me. That's nice. I really never wanted to have lots of girlfriends."

"You're a one woman man, Harry" said Arthur, "and that's good. Until you have a daughter that is. Now I'm a two woman man, with Molly and Ginny, except I've given Ginny to you, but I have all these other women in my life, my daughter-in-laws. No little children to look up to daddy, but it looks like grandchildren are coming soon. I've been told that grandchildren are even better than children.

I need to correct that, Harry" Arthur said. "I guess Teddy is something between another child and a grandchild. It would be nice if Andromeda was more stable, but Molly and I are going to have to be the stable people in his life."

"Ginny and me too" said Harry. "I wish we could be his parents, not that I want to take him away from his grandmother. I hope he's happy here."

"We'll do our best, Harry" a sombre Arthur said "and I know you will as well."

Since they were going to leave for Hogwarts on Sunday January 2 1999 Saturday was spent getting ready. Harry was going back on the train since his first formal day back at work was going to be Monday January 3.

Saturday night as they were getting ready for bed Ginny asked Harry "Does it seem strange to you going back on the train to Hogwarts?"

"It's a little unusual" Harry replied, "but I think it will be nice. I kind of think of it as the last day of my vacation."

"I just spent part of Christmas break with an Interior Designer on the, Harry, Grimmauld Place is really big!" Ginny said. "It's not huge huge like, Oh, sometimes it seems the Longbottom house goes on forever. It's not a mansion. But with all the furniture, all the floors and they are big, much bigger than the old Burrow. It's not as big as the New Burrow, but, and here I am going back to finish my last year at Hogwarts, Harry I'm only seventeen and we just are going to spend a lot of money, a lot of money on a house like I'm grown up and rich and I'm still a school girl! It's just really strange."

"Sorry you got married on your seventeenth birthday?" a grinning Harry kidded.

"NO!" Ginny exclaimed. "You'd better make love to me tonight AND tomorrow morning for that remark! I would be so crazy if we had waited, if we'd tried to wait, if you had tried to wait, Harry that's awful!"

"It is a little strange being Harry Potter, too" Harry reflected. "People treat me as a hero and like I know so much. I feel over my head all the time. I guess I've been lucky in having friends who knew what I didn't, and who helped me when I needed it." Harry looked at Ginny reflectively. "Having a loving wife to come home to helps, even if she is a horny broad." At this remark Ginny threw a pillow at Harry, finished taking off her clothes, and proceeded to show Harry just how horny a broad she was, to the great delight of both of them.


	26. Ch 26 Sectumsempra Cuts and House Elves

Ch 26 Sectumsempra Cuts and House Elves

_"Did it hurt?" asked Harry._

"_DID IT HURT?" screamed Ginny. "YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT IT HURT! IT STILL HURTS! AND IT DIDN'T DO A DA__MN__ BIT OF GOOD DID IT?_

* * *

It was Sunday, January 2, 1999, and Harry was delighted they were going to be riding the Hogwarts Express one more time. They got to the station 45 minutes early, and they were going to be riding in the same compartment as Ginny had rode in when Hanna had her baby. In the compartment were Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione, Neville and Hanna with baby Frank. Kyle and Tammy Lewis were going to be on the train, and one of them was going to be in their train car and close to the compartment at all times.

Word spread quickly that Harry Potter was on the train. Few of the students ever got up early enough to catch Harry and Ginny for breakfast. Harry had either been not at dinner or gone so quickly after dinner that students did not have much of a chance to talk with after the next, small groups of students timidly approached the carriage full of famous young witches and wizards and asked them to sign their Chocolate Frog cards. Some of the older students lingered a bit to ask a question or two of Harry. A couple of giggly third-year girls even had baby Frank chew the edges of their Neville Longbottom card.

With help from the Aurors, Harry and Ginny were able to visit briefly with every student who came to see them. Although most of the conversations with the throngs of students became somewhat automatic and repetitious, one visit was particularly difficult, David Jones. Harry asked David "How was your Christmas?"

"It was real hard with Nora not being there" he said. "I think Mum and Dad got more bad news."

"We are doing everything we can to find her" Harry said. "We just have not had much luck finding most of the Death Eaters who escaped from the Battle of Hogwarts."

When the train finally pulled into Hogsmeade Station, Harry and his companions were quite worn out and eager to head to off to the castle.

The Gryffindor table was set up with a crib on the end for Frank where he was flanked by Hanna and Neville. From that night on, Neville and his young family would occupy that end of the table whenever they ate their meals in the castle. Frank slept during most of the train ride, so by the time they arrived in the Great Hall, he was ready to eat. By this time Hanna had the nursing down, and could even eat a little while Frank was on her breast. Ginny told Harry "I'm not near ready yet, but some day we will have our own children." Ginny remembered how good it felt to nurse Teddy for those three months.

After a day more tiring than the pair had hoped, the Potters were grateful to be back in their two-room suite. It was not home, but until the construction at Grimmauld place was finished, they really didn't have a proper home. About half the time Fawkes was where Harry was, either at his office or at Hogwarts. The Phoenix seemed to be content to be at Hogwarts this day.

Monday it was back to school for Ginny, Hermione, and Hanna. For most of the classes Hanna wore Frank on a baby carrier, and he slept. She had arranged for baby sitters for as many of the classes as she could, and the older Frank got the more she relied on the baby sitters and the less she carried him around. Hannah soon learned that a three month-old sleeps far less often than a one month-old. She also learned that Frank could go longer between meals despite needing more nourishment at each meal.

Monday morning Harry got to work at 7:30 like he usually did. Al arrived at almost the same time. Harry went into Al's office, and sat down.

The first thing Al and Harry talked about was staffing, and how they were going to be training the next level of managers. Al was impressed with Ron Weasley, and told Harry "We need to train Ron to be at least a team leader. If he does as well as I think he will he should be one of your key managers. What he has done managing people at the WWW store has given him more experience than anyone in this class of Aurors in managing people.

In addition there are two others of your staff who we should be training to be supervisors, Seamus Finnegan and Cho Chang. I can pair all three of them with three of my better Auror Supervisors, and over the coming month's make sure we have the right people in place."

Al passed over to Harry written reports on what had happened over the last 48 hours. A lot of it was routine, and was automatically routed to Gawain. Other things were "almost" routine, and although Gawain or leaders of other branches within the department handled these, Al was given copies .Other matters were handled by those Aurors directly under Al. These tended to be more serious or unusual. Attacks on Muggles or Witches or Wizards with Muggle connections were always sent to Al, along with property crimes against Muggle relatives and Muggle born.

Al had noticed that some of the same types of crimes were happening in France, and other countries on the continent. The French Auror office was cooperating by sharing copies of their reports with the ministry in Brittan.

Al said "We need to find out where they are hiding. One key to finding that out is to figure out how they are getting to different places. We can do a reasonably good job of watching the floo network. We have some information on who is apparating where, but no real control. If someone uses a broom and disillusionment charms they can be impossible to detect. There isn't any radar, Muggle or magical, that can detect someone on a broom with disillusionment charms. They could even walk or take a car or train, although dark wizards do not usually like Muggle transportation.

Harry, has anyone ever shown you how this stuff works?"

Harry answered, "No. I have been taught how to do things, but it's like all magic. No one ever tells you how it works. I didn't know anyone i_knew/i_ how anything worked."

Al answered "We do not know how a lot of it works, but things like potions are partly chemistry and biology. The way witches and wizards are immune to so many Muggle sicknesses has as much to do with the potions we take as it has to do with any natural immunity of our bodies, although there is some of that. Some of it has to do with what we season our food with. People talk about magic like there is no explaining it.

The floo network is magical, but it has a structure you can see. Somebody has to make a Portkey. Let me get someone show you how some of that is done. It will help you understand what we need to do to control magical transportation."

Harry was introduced to Travin Moll, who graduated from Hogwarts just before Harry entered, a Ravenclaw who was fascinated by how magical transportation worked. He showed Harry how the Floo Network was controlled. All of the British networks were monitored from a single control room. On the control room wall, was a giant map of the network. It looked, Harry thought, not unlike the Marauders Map. If you looked closely, you could see any fireplace and the ones connected to it, and you could see how a person would have to travel through several fireplaces to get to somewhere.

To set up a new fireplace you started at a known fireplace, took some magical cord, fastened it to the starting fireplace with a wand and some complicated fastening spell, and wound it around your wand with a magical knot, and apparated to the proper place. There was some magic with how you had to fasten the cord to the new floo. Harry asked if you had to go to a fireplace, and was told no but it was a lot easier to floo if you used floo powder because the feeling of apparating was not so strong and it was just easier on your body.

Shortcuts and magic carpets were set up in a similar fashion. (Magic carpets were forbidden in most of Europe but common in the mid-east.) Any time you had a passageway that you wanted to use over and over to go to the same place it was usually set up in a similar fashion, although the style of cord and number of them varied. There were other maps of known shortcuts, and you could put a charm on any shortcut to see if it was being used, or to see if certain people were using it. You could also charm part of the floo network or individual shortcuts to detect if anybody but a certain few people were coming through. Since each shortcut had to be charmed one at a time it was not something that could be done easily. There were some things that could be done to all the parts of the floo network that were linked together, so they did have charms to detect known death eaters and keep them from using the floo network.

You could monitor the network to see who was using it, but it was not easy to record what was happening. It was in fact, quite like the Marauder's Map; easy to observe but difficult to record.

There was something similar going on with people apparating. If you knew what to do you could tell in real time what was going on, and there were certain charms or spells you could use to make it difficult for some known people to apparate, but it was not easy.

Harry spent a day learning all he could about the floo network and magical passageways. He knew that if he had any specific questions he could come back and ask, but he did not need to spend any more time here.

Tuesday, January 5 Harry Potter woke up at 6:00 AM, got dressed, woke up Ginny and they went to breakfast. Their school year routine was starting again. As they sat down for breakfast Harry asked "What are you going to be doing today, Ginny?"

"The same thing I do every weekday at Hogwarts, Harry love" Ginny said in a falsely sweet voice, giving Harry a hard time, "Classes and study." Ginny showed Harry her class schedule, then pointing at Hermione said "Of course my dear friend Hermione will insist that we complete the entire week's work by Tuesday if I plan to spend even an hour on the Quidditch pitch this weekend"

"You need to study really hard to pass your N.E.W.T.S. if you want a decent career after you graduate Ginny" Hermione earnestly said.

"How many N.E.W.T.S. do you have to pass to play Professional Quidditch?" Ginny sweetly asked Hermione.

"What if you don't get picked?" asked Hermione. "What if you get cut from the team or get hurt? You can't play Quidditch forever."

"Then Harry and I will just have to focus our attention on creating the next generation of Potter Quidditch players! That should keep me busy, N.E.W.T.S. or no" a grinning Ginny replied, giving Harry a longing look.

Hermione just shook her head, then turned to Harry and said "You know she really is a good student most of the time."

"Just like her brother" Ron, who was sitting right next to Hermione, piped up with.

Hermione glared at Ron and gave him a light whack.

"Actually, it's a bit too wintry for Quidditch practice, so I expect I'll be studying until my sexy man gets back. Back a little after 5:00 all this week?" Ginny asked.

Harry answered "I really have no idea what my schedule is going to be. It would be real nice to have a regular schedule. So far there is only one wizengamot scheduled for this month, on the 22nd.

Most of the trials are done, so it could be a short session" he told Ginny. "I do not see how many different things they can have me do and still learn how to be an Auror and manage the department."

Harry was in Al's office at 8:00 AM. Al looked at Harry and asked "How was your Christmas? Did you get any down time?"

Harry answered "Yes we did. We spent a couple of days doing almost nothing really, playing with my godson and looking over some of my father's old papers. It was great to have a few days break from the constant urgency to get things done. I think Ginny and I really needed that."

Al said "Everyone needs some of that, and the higher pressure the job, the more of that you need.

I'm going to introduce you our lead investigators Potter. They've been following up on all incidents we believe to be linked to dark wizards or escaped Death Eaters. They will be working with you."

Al led Harry to a small, rather plain-looking office. There were three simple desks, each complete with a chair, a small file cabinet and a couple of wall-mounted bookshelves. On the wall opposite the door, there was a map of Brittan and Northern France. Harry noticed several brightly-coloured dots on the map. Al strode along beside Harry and touched his wand to one of the dots over a town called Castleton, on the Isle of Man. The dot enlarged itself, revealing a report of an incident that took place there recently.

"Brilliant!" Harry remarked.

"It certainly reduces office clutter" chimed an exotic-looking elderly witch whom Harry did not notice when he walked in.

"Ah Carmella, this is Mr. Harry Potter. Harry, Mrs. Carmella Budziszewski, team lead" Al said.

"Nice to meet you Mrs. _Buzzewski_ was it?" said Harry offering his hand.

"Bud- Zis-ze-wi-Ski" the woman corrected. "My husband gave me a mouthful of a name I'm afraid. Just call me Carmella, everyone does."

Harry studied the woman. Her curly hair was greying. Her features were distinctive. She had dark skin, although she was lighter than Angelina, but her face and eyes reminded him of a middle-aged version of Cho Chang.

"Does your husband work here as well?" asked Harry.

"Goodness no. He's a research scientist at the National Wizard Lab in San Francisco. He's currently trying to unlock the mysteries of magical spaces."

"It must be difficult being separated then." Harry offered.

"Well yes but we each do our best to see each other whenever we can" Carmella explained.

A younger witch and wizard entered the office. "Ah" said Al. "Potter, this is Igor Marcelletti and Marcelle laFlamme Marcelletti, Carmella's partners."

"Eet is nize to meet you Arry" said Marcelle in a voice which reminded him of Fleur.

"Harry Potter. I vos vonderink when I vould get the chance to meet you" said Igor extending a hand confidently to Harry.

Al left Harry with the three, and they showed Harry a map of where the incidents were happening. The incidents were concentrated around magical villages, with a fair number in or around London. Incidents usually seemed to happen for a while around one area, then move to another area. From what little they could see several witches or wizards would be involved.

"What about the kidnapped girls?" Harry asked. "Are we working to find them?"

"We're not sure if there are dark wizards in several locations or one location" Carmella said, "Although we think they are in several locations. We are pretty sure both kidnapped girls are at the same location."

There was no evidence of where their headquarters were, or how they were getting from place to place. Harry went out with both Carmella and the Marcellettis a couple of times each day, investigating incident scenes (they were not always crimes, sometimes just reports of suspicious activity) and although they found small traces of dark magic a couple of times they really did not find anything significant. Harry was told that a lot of this type of investigation was just hard work, following up on lead after lead before you got a break in the case.

"You are on call from now on, Harry" Carmella told him. "A lot of this suspicious activity happens after hours. Most of the Aurors have more or less a regular shift or schedule, but we need to be able to respond on a moment's notice."

"How often do you expect me to be called out after hours?" asked Harry.

"Probably a lot" Carmella ruefully admitted. "Don't feel you have to be here at eight every morning, and if nothing is going on go home! Being on call is tough."

Just because the intensive training was over did not mean that Harry was done with study. So Tuesday after dinner Harry and Ginny were at the desks in their room when a Patronus appeared, ordering Harry to go to the Ministry and then accompany Marcelle to a place where alarms had gone off. Harry gave Ginny a quick kiss and rushed into the floo.

"Who is it" asked Harry as he appeared at the Ministry.

"No idea" Marcelle said as she gave Harry the co-ordinates and they apparated to the spot. There were four other Aurors and four other Ministry people surveying the scene. "We can tell there was someone magical here" said one "by the magical traces, but we have no idea how many there were. As soon as a pair of us appeared they just vanished."

"Wizards have a way of doing that" Harry remarked.

"The first persons on the scene put up anti-apparition wards" Marcelle said. "They should not have been able to apparate out of here"

"Could they get away any other way?" Harry asked.

"They could walk through some hidden passage I guess. I wish we had a way of knowing who we were dealing with" Marcelle said. "I hate these wild goose chases."

"You don't have any way of making a map or something of this place and seeing who is here?" asked Harry.

"I've never heard of a map that would identify the people at the place" Marcelle said. "That's pretty powerful magic."

"My dad and his friends made a map like that of Hogwarts" Harry said. "It didn't make any difference where we were in England is still showed every soul in Hogwarts, where they were. Would it be helpful to make maps like that?"

"Helpful! To be able to know how many people were somewhere, and who they were, before trying to arrest someone! It would be right useful in avoiding ambushes as well! Not to mention if you were trying to arrest one person not knowing there were thirty more of his comrades in the building!" exclaimed Marcelle, getting very excited.

"I'll see if I can find out how my father and his friends made the map" Harry said.

Tuesday night Harry got back before Ginny went to bed. Wednesday night there was a lot of activity at the locations that were tracked by the cell phones. In all cases wards were up when Aurors got to the locations, but when the Aurors tried to surround the location whoever was in there had disappeared. Thursday Carmella said that Harry was going to have to be ready to go on a few night missions, plus be available on the weekend, but he should make sure to get enough sleep and not rush into work, or go home for a nap, if he had to be up all night. "Unless someone calls you get in to work late tomorrow" Carmella said. "You have been working all day and half the night."

Thursday after work Harry told Ginny "I'm 'on call' for at least a while. Carmella did tell me not to come in early tomorrow."

"That does me a lot of good" a disgusted Ginny said. "I have classes first thing Friday!"

"I'm not supposed to work all day and then half the night too" Harry said.

"You're not supposed to, but you will" Ginny said disgustedly.

"I'll work hard to try and spend a little extra time here" Harry pleaded.

"I'll believe it when I see it" Ginny replied.

Every other night the next week Harry was called away for some period. In most cases protective wards had disappeared when Aurors started to arrive, although there was one case where the wards did not disappear until after Harry had left. None of the locations were occupied, and although there was evidence of dark magic it was not very specific. Most of the locations had some sort of room underground, but not all.

Harry did go back to Hogwarts for a couple of lunches with Ginny, the first one in the dining hall where they were mobbed by students, the second one in their room. He also went into work late a couple of times, catching up on some sleep the first time and catching up on some couple time the second because Ginny did not have to be at her first class until the middle of the morning.

Two weeks after Harry's first call out, Harry received another urgent call at two in the Lewis went out with Harry, and they arrived at a house that was surrounded by protective wards. When the wards came down they found a young couple with cuts all over their body. One of the other Aurors asked "Have you ever seen cuts like this?

"Just once;" said Harry wincing, "This is a curse wound."

"What sort of curse?" asked Kyle?

"Sectumsempra" said Harry solemnly.

The couple was being rushed to St. Mungo's. Kyle and Harry immediately followed them to let the healers know what sort of wound they were dealing with.

When Kyle and Harry arrived at St. Mungo's and located the couple, they were met by their healers who appeared stymied by the couple's seemingly un-healable wounds.

"These are curse wounds. Without knowing what bloody curse caused them, anything we may treat them with to stop the bleeding may make things worse. Do either of you know what curse was involved?"

"The name of the curse is Sectumsempra" offered Harry. "I've –er seen it before."

"I've never heard of it" said one of the healers with a desperate look on her face. "I don't suppose you've 'seen' the counter-curse?"

Harry remembered Snape curing Draco Malfoy. How could he forget? Harry used this dark curse against Draco without any idea what would happen. "I may be able to find it. I need to go to Hogwarts and see if Professor Snape has the counter curse written down. I've seen him use the counter curse but the incantation was complicated.

"Go!" the healer exclaimed. "We don't have much time!"

Harry flooed back to Grimmauld Place, and then to Ginny and his room at Hogwarts. (You could only get to the Hogwarts room from 2 fireplaces, the one in Grimmauld place and the one at the New Burrow.) Harry was frantic. "Ginny, Ginny, wake up! I need to get to Snape's papers. We need to wake up Hermione right now!"

Ginny looked at Harry, threw the most basic of clothes on, and ran with him to Ron and Hermione's room. Harry explained to Hermione how Snape had cured Draco's wounds, and that there was a young couple bleeding to death at this moment from that curse. Hermione told Harry "I really have not spent much time looking through Snape's papers. I think I know where to start, but there is no telling how long it is going to take."

Harry said "I'll get more help." While Ginny and Hermione went to Snape's old quarters to start looking through his papers Harry ran to Minerva McGonagall's quarters and woke her up. "I'm sorry to bother you, but we need to know the counter-curse for Sectumsempra that Snape used to heal Malfoy. We have a couple bleeding to death at St. Mungo's right now from what I think are those type of wounds, and the healers do not know what to do."

"I'll rouse as many of the teachers as I can to help" McGonagall said. "Harry, you go back to tell the healers that they we are working on it."

Harry and his Auror shadow Kyle got back to St. Mungo's about 2:30 AM. "We're working on finding the counter curses" Harry said. Harry alone was given protective clothing and sent to the room where they were working on the young couple, so he could tell the healers that he had a team of people trying to find the counter-curse.

Harry recognized the injured young couple. They had been a few years older than he and Ginny when they first went to Hogwarts. He would later learn that they were a pair of Ravenclaw's from Percy's year. He had no idea what their names were or anything else except he recognized them. The girl was very pregnant, 8 months Harry learned. Things were going very badly for her, and when Harry first came into the room he learned that the baby was dead. One of the witches looked at Harry with despair in her eyes and said "It was not enough to cut the baby. They had to torture the poor child with the Cruciatus Curse, just to make sure the poor child died in agony."

There were sheets of parchment floating above each bed, showing blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, and a couple of other vital signs. Harry eventually learned that they were similar to the displays at the bedside of patients in intensive care units in Muggle hospitals. Witches and wizards did not need all the tubes and wires, and they could track one thing that no Muggle instrument could. They could tell when the soul had left the body, that moment when a person's body became an empty shell of remains.

Harry saw a large and a small parchment above the pregnant young girl's bed. All the lines on the small parchment were flat, and some numbers read -0-. There was a little dove, which Harry learned was the symbol for the soul, on both adult charts but it was missing from the child's chart.

About 3:00 AM the lines on the young girl's chart started to go flat. The two healers had been working frantically with wands, potions, and by putting things on cuts, but nothing had been working. About 5 minutes after the lines went flat the symbol for the soul started to fade, and the two faced each other and the witch healer said to her male partner "We have to tell the parents."

Harry could hear the scream on anguish from the mother when she had been told. "My only child! My grandchild! Gone!" The door was closed and the parents were let away, but Harry though he would remember those words for the rest of his life.

Meanwhile the other Witch and Wizard were frantically working on the young man. They had slowed the amount of blood flowing from most of the cuts, and had managed to replenish some of his blood. Harry was pressed into service holding patches over various cuts and emptying what seemed to him like gallons of spilt blood. About 4:30 the lines on the young man's chart finally went flat. The Witch and wizard looked at the young man for about 10 minutes, utter exhaustion and despair on their faces, before they slowly walked out of the room.

Harry felt as beat and defeated as he had ever felt. He ended up standing at the far wall of the room, with his head against the wall, fighting back tears. He really did not want to walk out of the room and face anybody.

* * *

About 3:30 someone, no one could remember who since Sue Shook and Tammy Lewis, the Aurors, and it seemed over half the Hogwarts staff were looking through Snape's papers, found the spells to fix Sectumsempra cuts. They were maddeningly complex and subtle, and you were warned to practice on animals you could sacrifice before trying them on humans. If you did not do the spells just right you could do more harm than good. It took until 3:45 to get practice set up.

"I'll make a few mice" Minerva said, and they tried to cut and heal the mice. The problem was that too many of the mice died before you could even start to heal them. Minerva made a few bigger animals, and that was a little better. They did notice that after Minerva transfigured something to an animal and they healed the cuts when the animal was transfigured back into its original object the original object was obviously repaired, and not always nicely repaired. Dead non-healed animals transfigured back were just junk.

Finally Ginny said "I can make just a couple of cuts, and heal them." She showed them the work she had done on a pig. "There's only one way to see if it will work on humans..."

"Nooo! Are you mad?" Hermione shrieked at her friend.

Ginny ignored Hermione. She slowly directed her wand at her left forearm and muttered "Sectumsempra."

Pain seared across Ginny's face as her arm split open and began spurting crimson.

"Ginny!" Hermione cried.

Ginny's knees buckled momentarily as she was overcome with a wave pain. She steadied herself and began to force the incantations for the counter-curse through gritted teeth. Remarkably, she was able to close the wound, though not as neatly as she would have hoped. This she realized would be one more scar for her to bear.

"I cannot believe you!" Hermione said incredulously.

"It was the only way to know for sure." Ginny said.

By four forty five, Ginny thought she was ready to try the spells on another human. She rushed back to her room, took the floo to Grimmauld Place and from there to St. Mungo's. As she rushed into St. Mungo's she asked for Harry Potter and they took her towards a room, put a white protective gown on her, and let her into the room.

Ginny could not believe what she saw. On the right side of the room was a very naked very pregnant woman, as white as could be, with congealed blood coming out of what seemed hundreds of wounds. There was a river of congealed blood coming out between her legs. On the left hand side of the room was a naked young man with as many cuts. Slowly turning around was her Harry, looking as tired and defeated as she had ever seen him. "We've lost them both, and the baby as well" Harry said. "They were classmates, Ravenclaws' from Percy's year.

"I think I know how to heal those cuts" said Ginny "but it's too late for them." Harry and Ginny held each other for a brief moment, then both took off the white gowns and slowly walked out of the room. By this time Hermione had also appeared, but as soon as she saw the look on Harry and Ginny's face she knew that they were too late.

Harry tried to take Ginny's arm and lead her from the room. She winced and pulled her arm away. That's when Harry noticed her arm. "Blimey! What happened to your arm?" Harry asked.

"I had to test the healing spells on somebody" said Ginny, very quietly but with a fierce glare. "Who else could I have practiced on?"

"Did it hurt?" asked Harry.

"DID IT HURT?" screamed Ginny. "YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT IT HURT! IT STILL HURTS! AND IT DIDN'T DO A DAMN BIT OF GOOD DID IT? It's going to leave ANOTHER BLOODY SCAR! Harry, they're not going to defeat us. I am going to learn those healing spells until I can do them in my sleep."

Ginny sat down, shaking. Slowly, she collected herself. "Harry, I'm sorry. I guess I'm feeling a little vain. I want so badly to be a beautiful as I can be for you. I can't do that if I keep scarring myself can I?" she asked.

Harry said "Ginny, you are the most beautiful girl in the world. You always will be, even when we are old and grey both of us are all full of wrinkles, you will be the most beautiful girl in the world to me. I'll love you no matter what. My brave, brave, brave heroine, I love you because you are brave and tough enough to do this."

Ginny did not cry, but you could tell that she was working hard to control herself. Harry could also tell that one way Ginny controlled the tears was by getting very mad and very determined. "I don't love you just because you're pretty" Harry quietly told Ginny, "although I do think you are the cutest girl at Hogwarts. I love you because you are brave and tough! You are so strong, so gutsy! Thank you for learning how to heal those awful cuts."

Hermione entered the tragic scene moments later. Seeing the look upon her friend's faces, she knew they had been too late. She sat silently with them for several minutes.

The healers approached Ginny and Hermione. "Did you find the counter-curse? Can you heal this type of wound?" One of them asked.

"Yes, we learned the incantation and the method but we still need to perfect it" Ginny said.

"Can you teach us?" the healer asked.

Hermione said "We can show you what we've learned. Perhaps you can improve upon the method once you've learned it. Once you do, I'd like to share it with Madam Pomfrey at Hogwarts, just in case it is ever needed there."

Ginny sat with a look of concentration on her face. She was going over the counter-curse and healing method in her head so as not to forget it. After a few minutes, the healers approached her and gave her a potion which they told her would lessen her chances of her wound scarring or becoming infected.

It was almost five o'clock in the morning, but no one could sleep. Harry asked one of the Aurors "Was anybody else in the house?" "No one," he was told, "except for a couple of house elves. Everybody knows you cannot get any information out of house elves." Harry thought a little about this. He did not see why you could not get a lot of information out of house elves if you just asked, so he called for Kreacher.

"Kreacher" Harry said, "We just lost a pregnant witch and her wizard husband to what we think were death eaters. There were house elves in the house, but none of the wizards think we can get any information from them."

Kreacher asked where the house was. When told he looked a little surprised, then worried. "Master and Mistress needs to rest" Kreacher said. "I will have more for you after you sleep." So everybody went back and slept until mid-afternoon.

Mid-afternoon, after Harry and Ginny were both up, Ginny went to her last class of the day and Harry went to the office to talk to Carmella Budziszewski. "Could we ask the house elves what happened?" Harry asked Carmella.

"Well you can certainly try Potter" said Carmella. "But trying to get information out of house elves can be a pretty fruitless endeavour."

Harry called for Kreacher, who appeared almost immediately. Harry asked "Should we go over and talk to the house elves. How should we best approach them?"

Kreacher looked at both Harry and Carmella and said "Many of the houses where you found dark magic were or are owned by the Harry Potter Estates, and were owned by Tom Riddle or one of his followers." Kreacher had a list of properties, and Carmella decided that they would have to place magical warning charms and wizard cell phones at any property that Harry owned or used to own. Kreacher also had a similar list for France and most of Western Europe. Carmella told Kreacher that she would try to get these guarded as well, especially any that had people living in them.

Kreacher told Harry and Carmella that they were trying to get clauses in the legal paperwork, in any property that had been sold or that was going to be sold, starting with those that were inhabited by house elves, giving Harry and the Aurors permission to talk to the house elves.

Meanwhile Harry refunded the couple's money for the purchase of the house to their next of kin. This effectively returned ownership of the house elves to Harry.

Kreacher told them he would come along for the first couple of these, but they needed a young house elf that can act as an assistant in these types of investigations. The house elf quarters at Grimmauld Place were finished and two single house elves were already living there. The old lady elf was very upset with Harry and Bill for tearing down "her" house even though it had been vacant for 50 years and had fallen in to disrepair. Mabel, they learned her name, would soon become a loyal defender of the Potter house. In fact, a pair of workmen learned this the hard way when they came to install a carpet at Grimmauld place and failed to produce their identification quickly enough.

Kreacher said that Mabel had two daughters that were assigned to other households, but that one of them had a son who was not owned by anybody other than the Potter Estates, and he wanted to help Harry. His name was Dobedo (dough be do) and he was very young and very excited to be owned by Harry and to be given a chance to work with Harry. "I call him if you like" said Kreacher, and when Harry agreed young Dobedo appeared with a big smile on his face. Kreacher said "Keep quiet and listen today. Do not even say yes or no, just nod your head when asked and keep quiet!" Dobedo nodded his head yes and listened intently to everything said.

Harry and the two elves went over to the house where the young couple lived, along with Jim Shook, Kyle Lewis, and Carmella. Al was very nervous when Harry was out on assignment without a lot of other Aurors around, and had conveyed that to the entire staff of Aurors. The four wizards stayed in the living room of the house while Kreacher and Dobedo went to talk to the house elves.

When Kreacher and Dobedo came back Kreacher said to Dobedo "Tell Master Harry what we found out."

"Master Potter, Dobedo is so proud to be working for you and in such important job and thanks you so much!" said Dobedo, the words rushing out, before Kreacher interrupted him with "DOBE just tell Master Harry what he needs to know. Slowly!"

The young house elf hung his head in shame, said "Sorry" to Kreacher, and then turned to Harry and slowly said "The house elves said that black witches and wizards came in through a secret basement room. They know the room. There seems to be some secret passageway out of the room that they do not know about."

Dobe looked at Kreacher, who said to Harry, "Any questions?"

"Can we see this room?" asked Harry.

"Yes" said Kreacher, and he led them down to the basement to a small storage and potion making room. He walked over to a wall, snapped his fingers and a doorway opened for the Aurors to enter.

Before they went in Jim Shook told Harry "We have been told in situations like this one of us goes in before you, and one stays outside the room." He then went in, followed by Carmella and then Harry. Kyle stayed outside the room. Everyone had their wands drawn. Carmella and Harry could feel the presence of dark magic and could almost feel the presence of more space, but could not pinpoint where it was or how to get to it.

Harry looked at Carmella and said "Your husband is investigating magic space. Could he help find what more there is in this room?"

Carmella looked like a light bulb had gone off in her head. "Yes, he and a couple of colleagues probably could! I'll ask him."

The staff of Aurors, plus the house elves, spent a little more time going over the house before going back to the office. Kreacher asked if Harry would like to see the new house elf quarters at Grimmauld Place, and Harry enthusiastically agreed.

The house elf quarters were just as they had been designed. It was a good thing that Harry was small because he could just stand up in the living quarters and had to kneel down to look into the bedrooms. There was carpet on the floor and cupboards to store personal possessions, and a clothes bar with uniforms. Mabel was a sour looking old house elf wearing a "Harry Potter" dress as her uniform. It looked as severe and no nonsense as she did. "I make sure nobody go through the floo or get in the house unless they have good reason to be here!" Mabel said, and when Harry thanked her she gave him a suspicious and slightly disdainful look as if to say "Masters do not thank house elves." Harry just laughed quietly to himself.

Kreacher and Harry sat on the floor and spent about an hour talking to Dobedo about what he was going to be doing. Harry asked if Dobedo could protect himself and others, and Dobedo said he had talked to house elves that were in the Battle of Hogwarts and he was sure he could come up with a way of helping if he had to fight.

Before they left Kreacher opened the door to his quarters, which had been shut the entire time Harry was in the elf quarters, and a very shy female house elf peered out of the door. Kreacher introduced her to Harry Potter, and she shyly bowed down. Kreacher said Azaleas was working outside the house teaching other small house elf children, without pay, and that they were both glad she could help house elves get educated.

There was no more night action until two and a half weeks later, Tuesday, February 2, when they got an urgent call from the French. There had been an attack at another house, and four people were cut. Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione, along with Jim, Sue, Kyle, Tammy and Sidney went to the Ministry, took the floo to France, and when there went to the French hospital. From there Ginny, Hermione and Sidney, plus Sue and Tammy, stayed at the hospital and the rest went to the house. Harry called for Dobedo as they arrived. There were ten French Aurors there, and the two groups started to go over what they had found.

Harry was nervous, and Kyle and Jim were also getting nervous. There were a lot of Aurors there, but the place felt evil. About 15 minutes after they arrived about 20 dark wizards appeared suddenly and started to attack. Harry, Ron, Kyle and Jim all thought of their emergency cell phone buttons at the same time. Everybody immediately began to counter attack. Harry heard a "Krack-whack" followed by another and another, and one dark wizard after another was downed by something other than a spell. Two of the dark wizards were dead, one was wounded and captured, and one French Auror was dead. The Aurors had all been injured; three of the French Aurors were serious wounded and were taken immediately to the French equivalent of St. Mungo's.

Dobedo held a bloody meat cleaver in his hands. Apparently, the "Krack-whack" sound Harry had heard was the sound of Dobedo apparating from spot to spot and thrashing the dark wizards with a meat cleaver. Before the fight was over, Dobedo attacked no less than seven dark wizards. Dobedo, Harry had learned, was a formidable foe!

With an emergency summons from Harry, Ron, Kyle and Jim it seemed that Al had scrambled half the Aurors in Britain and a quarter of them in France. "I told you to have plenty of back up, Harry!" yelled Al, "Why did you let him out with so few people?" as he looked at Jim and Kyle."

Harry answered "there were ten French Aurors here, plus Jim, Kyle, Ron and Dobedo my house elf assistant, maybe I should say my house elf assassin since he disabled 7 of the attackers himself. Somebody left without part of their leg!"

Al looked at the little house elf smiling proudly with his bloody cleaver and the remnant of someone's leg and said "My God! I'm going to have nightmares about house elves with cleavers." Al shook his head, looking back and forth at the little house elf, the bloody leg, Harry, about 3 or 4 times shaking his head, before he said

"Harry, I think someone out there does not like you. I cannot ask for more protection, but keep your young house elf with you, and thank you for taking both Jim and Kyle with you."

At this moment Sidney showed up and said "We saved all four of them, the parents and both children! They will all have a few scars, but nothing major. The girls are working on the two Aurors who were cut."

Sidney looked at the scene, and saw the evidence of a battle. When he saw Dobedo with the cleaver and the leg fragment he looked at Al and Harry and said "Good Grief! Damn! I hope he is on our side!"

Harry said "I asked Dobedo to come up with a good way to help in a battle if needed, and I think he did a fantastic job." Looking at Dobedo he said "Thank you Dobedo. Am sure you saved lives today, maybe even mine. You did an excellent job." Harry then put his fingers to his lips to indicate that Dobedo should stay quiet. He knew that if Dobe started to thank Harry he would run at the mouth and spend precious time with over the top thanks and gratitude.

Al said to the people around him "I wish we could find a friendly reporter to get this in the papers. We need people to know about dark wizards coming in through basements, and about the types of attacks."

Harry said he knew of a friendly reporter and conjured up a Patronus to send to Cindy Base. She and a photographer were there within 5 minutes, before most of the others had left and before Dobedo disappeared for a brief time to put his cleaver away. As a result the photographer got a picture of the house elf with his bloody cleaver and an unattached part of a leg and foot at his feet. As the photographer was taking photographs Harry said to Cindy "We need a good article on this attack and a previous one. We need the entire Wizarding community to know dark wizards frequently come in through hidden rooms in basements, and we want everyone to be on the lookout for this type of wizard and attack." Cindy went around and got as complete story as she could about the current attack and the previous one.

Al dismissed most of the British and other foreign Aurors, and someone from the French Ministry dismissed most of the French Aurors. Carmella, who had also shown up, led a brief discussion of what had happened. Sidney interviewed the adult victims who were healed. They told him they knew where the cellar was and that they had managed to detect the presence of dark magic just before the attack. Cindy went to the cellar as well. Al and Harry told Cindy that there was a lot more to the story, and if she could wait a day they could fill her in and take her to the house where the young British couple were attacked.

Harry finally headed to the French hospital to pick up Ginny and Hermione and go back to Hogwarts.

Meanwhile Ginny had healed one of the children, and then when the Aurors were brought in started tending a witch who had a lot of serious cuts. The staff at the hospital was very interested in how to heal the cuts, and Ginny spent about half an hour both healing the cuts and showing the French healers how to do it. She also gave them instructions on how to treat the healed areas so they did not leave big scars, "Scars like mine" she said as she showed the healers her arm, which was still pretty scared up.

When everything was done Ginny sat down and looked at her patient. She was not much older than Ginny. She had on an extremely short dress, and under the dress instead of knickers there was a small piece of cloth that hardly covered what it needed to cover. She had on stylish high heel shoes, small but obviously expensive earrings, and a beautiful watch. Her dress was form fitting as only a witch could make it, and it covered a very shapely pair of hips, a waist that was as narrow as Ginny's, and boobs that were, to put it mildly, big. She was a lot rounder than Ginny.

Ginny looked at herself. She had on worn out slippers with holes in the bottom and sides. She had on shorts with holes burnt through them (a potions class mishap). She was wearing an old knitted jumper her mother made for which was now several years old. With the haste at which she left her room, she had forgotten a bra and was feeling quite exposed and shabby.

On top of everything she was exhausted.

One of the American Aurors came into the room and said "Are you going to be OK, Laura?"

"I think so" Laura said.

"Ginny?" the Auror asked.

"I'm just tired" Ginny said. "Is everybody else safe?"

"The French lost one Auror, and the dark wizards lost two of their own. We captured one" the Auror said. "Harry is safe, if that's what you want to know. I think he will be here before too long."

"Harry?" the French witch asked.

"Potter" the American Auror replied.

"You're Ginny Potter, and you've just saved my life" Laura said. "You really are an extraordinary witch! Thank you!"

"You're welcome, Laura" Ginny said. "Laura?! Have you met Harry?" Ginny had heard that name before. Was this the curvy French witch Harry partnered with in Romania?

"Please don't Bat Bogy Hex me, not after saving my life" Laura said. "I was Harry's partner in Romania. He is maybe the nicest person I've ever met, and his love for you was … touching … very strong … I hope I can marry someone as good and faithful as Harry."

Ginny just sat there for a little while, and then said "I'm sorry I'm not more social. I'm just exhausted."

Eventually Harry was led into the room. He looked at the two witches and immediately went over to Ginny and hugged her hard, gently kissed her and hugged her some more. "The French lost an Auror" he said. "I think we would have had lots more casualties except Dobedo apparently has found a good weapon for a house elf to wield, a meat cleaver. He really saved the day."

"Mr. Potter, please get up on the treatment table so we can examine you" one of the healers said. Laura got off and sat next to Ginny. A small team of healers spent about ten minutes going over Harry before letting him up.

By this time Harry knew that the other Auror was Laura DuPont, and he said to her "Laura, this is my wife Ginny. Isn't she fantastic!?"

"Real beautiful" Ginny said looking at herself, hair probably as messy as Harry had ever seen it.

"Oh you clean up real well" Harry said laughing. He got a wistful look on his face and said "Even after putting your elbow in the butter."

"Harry, I was ten years old" Ginny said. "You still remember that? I was not very brave around you when I was little."

"Ginny got these scars" Harry said, pointing out the two big scars, "the year before the battle of Hogwarts, and this one on her arm learning how to heal the Sectumsempra cuts. She's maybe the bravest person I know."

"Maybe I can find a nice guy now that I have some scars" Laura said, looking at her legs and arms and touching a scar on her face. "I haven't had much luck so far."

There was a loo in the room, and Laura excused herself to use it. About this time another Auror was led into the room, a short young wizard with a noticeable limp. He wasn't too bad looking, if you ignored big bald patches where his hair should have been. "Thank you for coming, Harry" he said. "They told me your team saved our team's lives."

"This is my wife Ginny" Harry said. "Ginny, this is one of the French Aurors. I'm not sure I got your name."

"Jean" the young man said.

About this time Laura came out of the Loo. The young man looked at Laura and got real nervous. Laura looked at him for a while, and finally said "Jean."

"Laura, your legs, your arms, your face" Jean said.

Laura said "Harry Potter says his wife's scars are bravery marks. Maybe I've been too perfect."

"Oh no" Jean said. You could tell Jean was still very unsure of himself. Laura finally said "Jean, you're brave. How come you don't say more than two words to me?"

"Brave about most things" Jean said. "Not about girls."

"Why?" asked Laura.

"Bad experiences at school, when girls laughed at me and my limp and I'm short I've got these bald spots on my head and I'm and not so good looking" Jean said.

"Jean" Laura said, "You are a nice guy. You don't know how much trouble I have had finding a nice guy."

"I … I … you always were too … Oh" Jean said, and he started muttering in French.

"He's got his elbow in the butter" Harry said to Laura as he led Ginny out of the room.

Laura whispered to Harry and Ginny, as they were right outside the room so Jean could not hear, "Maybe I've been looking at the wrong men." She then turned and went back into the room with Jean.

* * *

The next day Ginny, Ron and Hermione, and the rest of the people who were called to France slept late. No one minded but Hermione, who hated to miss a single class. Sidney cancelled his classes for the day. Harry had to attend a session of the Wizengamot, but he got a little sleep before and just dragged through the rest of the day. He could survive a day with little sleep, but he felt it.

Late that afternoon Harry and Al went over the rest of the story, taking Cindy to the other house, and reviewing what she had written.

The story as it came out the next day covered almost a full page, spread over the front and 3rd pages of the paper, with photographs of the 2 basement rooms and good reasoned warnings about what to be concerned about and what not to be concerned about. It talked a little about both of the battles and some other battles with dark wizards. It mentioned Dobedo and the meat cleaver in passing as part of the story of the 2nd battle.

Unfortunately the headline was as sensational as the story was good and balanced. There on the top of the paper was **House Elves with meat cleavers** despite there only being one house elf, and there was a photograph of Dobedo with the meat cleaver and severed leg.

The story was picked up by almost all the Wizarding press, and it seems the lead photograph was the same on all the papers. The reaction was immediate, and not all of it favourable. There were a large number of letters to the editor questioning the policy of letting house elves even help Aurors, and the idea of house elves being armed was terrifying to most of the letter writers. Wizards were talking to Robards and Kingsley and anyone they could find on the Wizengamot.

Hermione was spending part of most Fridays at the Ministry, and she got an earful. Within the week she told Harry "This one photograph may have set the cause of house elf rights back 100 years."

"House elves fought at the Battle of Hogwarts" Harry remarked.

"There are a lot of people who just found out about that, and are not happy" Hermione said. "You have really stirred up a nest of bees with this one."

What surprised Harry was that many house elves were also not happy.

Kreacher told Harry one night "Kreacher happy Dobedo saved Harry Potter's life, but newspaper has house elves very upset." Over the week after the article appeared four house elves from Hogwarts showed Harry the article and wanted to talk to him. Harry ended up spending about four hours talking to various house elves or groups of house elves. It seems that house elves had escaped having to take sides in the many battles that had taken place in the magical world over the past 4,000 years, and what the story implied was that now house elves were going to take their place besides wizards in battles, something that went against 4,000 years of tradition.

Some witches and wizards began talking with their house elves about matters of concern aside from just meals and housework. The house elves had to start thinking about things they had escaped having to think about before.

Cindy published another large article about Dobby and his sacrifice, Harry burying him, Kreacher and the Battle of Hogwarts, the house elf assistants of the North American Aurors, and Dobedo and his training to do more for Harry than just wield a meat cleaver.

Kreacher helped Cindy with the story, and in return she agreed to end his part of the story with the battle of Hogwarts. He was becoming too much a part of the management of the Harry Potter Estates to make the people who were against house elf rights comfortable, and he wanted to keep a low profile for as long as he could.

For well over a month there were no more attacks that could be attributed to the group that had been causing all the trouble. They seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth.


End file.
